Vegetable · Malvaceae
When to plant okra
A hibiscus relative that demands real heat and then crops relentlessly. Pods go from perfect to woody in about two days, so picking is a daily job.
Start seed indoors
4 weeks before
Counted from your last spring frost.
Plant out
3 weeks after
Counted from your last spring frost.
Sow direct
3 weeks after
Counted from your last spring frost.
Those weeks become real dates once you name a place.
Timing, in frost-relative terms
Seed packets rarely give calendar dates, because a date that suits one latitude is wrong at another. They give offsets from the last spring frost instead, and those offsets are what make okra plantable anywhere.
- Start seed indoors 4 weeks before the last frost.
- Plant out 3 weeks after the last frost.
- Sow direct 3 weeks after the last frost.
- Expect 55–70 days to maturity, counted from sowing.
Getting the timing right
Sow or plant out three weeks after the last frost, once soil is at 18C. Soaking the hard seed overnight noticeably improves germination.
Frost tolerance
Killed at 0C and checked below 15C, at which point the plant stops setting pods and sulks until warmth returns.
Classified as tender, with damage expected below 0°C (32°F)32°F (0°C).