When to Plant Okra in Alsip, IL

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.

By using the USDA zone info for Alsip it's possible to figure out when to plant okra.


Planting Calendar for Okra

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

Since okra do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until 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 Alsip 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. Any later than that and your okra may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your okra indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Alsip. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

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

USDA Zone Info for Alsip

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 Alsip

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