The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Matthews it's possible 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 when the weather gets warmer.

It's a bad idea to plant okra until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Matthews 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. If you are starting your okra indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Matthews. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Matthews and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Matthews you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your okra in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Matthews

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 Matthews

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