Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's the best time to plant okra is to use the USDA zone info for Birmingham.

Planting Calendar for Okra

Frost tolerance for okra:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since okra do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Birmingham is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant okra and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your okra may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your okra indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Birmingham the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Birmingham is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Birmingham it frosts late in the year after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your okra if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Birmingham

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Birmingham

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Birmingham.