One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant beets in Ocala should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Beets

Frost tolerance for beets:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since beets are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant beets in Ocala is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant beets and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your beets may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your beets indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Ocala. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ocala is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ocala there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your beets in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ocala

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Ocala

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