The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant okra is to check out the USDA zone info for El Centro.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

You really shouldn't plant okra until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant okra in El Centro is February. However, you really should wait until March 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your okra may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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

On average all chance of frost has passed is on January 31 in El Centro. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for El Centro may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in El Centro you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to protect your okra if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Centro

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in El Centro

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Centro.