One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 figuring out when it's possible to plant okra is to use the USDA zone info for Itasca.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

You really shouldn't plant okra until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Itasca 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Itasca is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Itasca you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your okra in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Itasca

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Itasca

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