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

You can figure out when it's possible to plant okra in Missoula by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

Okra are not cold tolerant which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Missoula 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. Starting your okra indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Missoula. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Missoula is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Missoula there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your okra in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Missoula

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 Missoula

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