One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Columbus you will be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant okra.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

You should not plant okra until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Columbus 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your okra indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Columbus. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Columbus and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Columbus it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your okra if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Columbus

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 Columbus

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