Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Melbourne you can estimate when you can plant okra by looking at 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.

Since okra require warm weather you have 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 Melbourne 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your okra indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Melbourne. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Melbourne is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Melbourne it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your okra if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Melbourne

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 Melbourne

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