One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant okra in Longboat Key can be estimated 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 when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably a bad idea to plant okra until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Longboat Key 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your okra indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Longboat Key. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Longboat Key is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Longboat Key last frost occurs after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to cover your okra if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Longboat Key

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 Longboat Key

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Longboat Key.