One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 Tampa can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

Since okra require warm weather you really should wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Tampa 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your okra indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Tampa. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Tampa is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Tampa you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your okra in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Tampa

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 Tampa

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