When to Plant Okra in Belleville, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Belleville you can determine when it's possible to plant okra by checking out 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.

Okra are not cold tolerant which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer 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 Belleville 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your okra indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Belleville. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°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 Belleville and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Belleville there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your okra in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Belleville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Belleville

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