One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Opelika can be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

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

The earliest that you can plant okra in Opelika 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your okra may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your okra indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Opelika. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Opelika is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Opelika last frost occurs after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your okra if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Opelika

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 Opelika

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