When to Plant Okra in Saco, ME

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Saco can be looked at to estimate when it's the best time to plant okra.


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 tells us that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost 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 Saco 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your okra indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Saco is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Saco it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your okra if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Saco

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 Saco

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