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.

The USDA zone info for Hastings can be used to figure out when it's a good idea to plant okra.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

Since okra are not cold tolerant you have to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Hastings 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Hastings. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Hastings is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Hastings you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your okra in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hastings

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 Hastings

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