One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 first chance to plant okra in New Paltz can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Okra

Frost tolerance for okra:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant okra until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant okra in New Paltz 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 really do well. 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 New Paltz. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for New Paltz is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in New Paltz you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your okra in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for New Paltz

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 New Paltz

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Paltz.