One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Keokuk should be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

Since okra are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Keokuk 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your okra indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Keokuk the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Keokuk is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Keokuk last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your okra in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Keokuk

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Keokuk

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