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

By referring to the USDA zone info for Needles you should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant okra.

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 require warm weather you need 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 Needles 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. If you wait any later than that and your okra may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your okra indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Needles. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Needles is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Needles it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your okra in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Needles

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Needles

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