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.

One way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant okra is to examine the USDA zone info for Newport.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

Since okra require warm weather you need to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Newport 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your okra indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Newport. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Newport and it is different every year. Half of the time in Newport you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your okra if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Newport

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 Low	0°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 Newport

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