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 way of determining when it's a good idea to plant okra is to use the USDA zone info for International Falls.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant okra until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant okra in International Falls is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. Starting your okra indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In International Falls the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -40°F.

Since the USDA zone info for International Falls is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in International Falls you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your okra in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for International Falls

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-40°F
Highest Expected Low	-35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -35°F.

Plants to Grow in International Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for International Falls.