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.

The USDA zone info for Ankeny can be looked at to figure out when it's a good idea to plant okra.

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 Ankeny is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant okra and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your okra may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your okra indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ankeny. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ankeny and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ankeny you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your okra if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ankeny

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Ankeny

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