One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Gulf Shores you can determine when to plant okra by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Okra

Frost tolerance for okra:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant okra until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

The last month that you can plant okra and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your okra may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your okra indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Gulf Shores. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Gulf Shores may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Gulf Shores last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your okra in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gulf Shores

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Gulf Shores

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Gulf Shores.