One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A common way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant okra is to examine the USDA zone info for Fort Wayne.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

You really shouldn't plant okra until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Fort Wayne 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 fully mature. If you are starting your okra indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Fort Wayne the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Fort Wayne and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Fort Wayne there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your okra in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Wayne

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 Fort Wayne

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Wayne.