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 USDA zone info for New York should be read to determine when it's possible to plant okra.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

It's a bad idea to plant okra until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant okra in New York 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. 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in New York. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for New York is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in New York there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your okra if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New York

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 New York

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