One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 best time to plant okra in San Jose can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

It's probably a bad 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 San Jose 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your okra may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your okra indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in San Jose. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for San Jose may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in San Jose last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your okra in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Jose

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 San Jose

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Jose.