When to Plant Okra in Grimes, IA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when you can plant okra is to check out the USDA zone info for Grimes.


Planting Calendar for Okra

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

Okra do not do well in cold weather which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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 Grimes 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

In Grimes the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Grimes is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Grimes you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your okra in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Grimes

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 Grimes

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