When to Plant Okra in Fort Myers Beach, FL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Fort Myers Beach should be reviewed to figure out when it's the best time to plant okra.


Planting Calendar for Okra

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

Okra do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant okra
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant okra
Probably not a good time to plant okra

The earliest that you can plant okra in Fort Myers Beach 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. Any later than that and 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in Fort Myers Beach. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Myers Beach is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Fort Myers Beach you get a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your okra in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Myers Beach

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 Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°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 Fort Myers Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Myers Beach.