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

It's a good idea to estimate when you can plant okra by referring to the USDA zone info for Ithaca.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

Okra require warm weather which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Ithaca. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ithaca is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ithaca there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your okra if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ithaca

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Ithaca

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