One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant okra in Bay City by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

You really shouldn't plant okra until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Bay City 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your okra may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your okra indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bay City. 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 just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bay City and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Bay City there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your okra if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bay City

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 Bay City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Bay City.