One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The first chance to plant okra in Bessemer City should be determined 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 when the weather gets warmer.

You should not plant okra until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Bessemer 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. Starting your okra indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bessemer City. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Bessemer City is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Bessemer City there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your okra if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bessemer City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Bessemer City

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