When to Plant Okra in Atlantic, IA

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

You can figure out when it's possible to plant okra in Atlantic by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Okra

Frost tolerance for okra: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

It's probably not a good idea to plant okra until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant okra
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant okra
Probably not a good time to plant okra

The earliest that you can plant okra in Atlantic 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 really do well. 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

In Atlantic the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

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

USDA Zone Info for Atlantic

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 Atlantic

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