Ocala, FL 34479 Frost Dates
34479, near Ocala, FL: the frost window
Around 03/01 is the usual last spring frost, about 185 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 12/07, roughly 284 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ocala in Zone 9a (20 to 25°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
Ocala's growing season runs out in roughly 14 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
How much risk comes with planting early here
03/01 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 01/29 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 03/22 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Ocala against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 284 frost-free days, Ocala places 4,667 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within FL, it ranks 1,367 of 1,609.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 34479: the frost range, on how to read the range around Ocala's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates, on what one yard in Ocala can differ from the 34479 normal.