When to Plant Okra in Yankton, SD

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when you can plant okra is to consult the USDA zone info for Yankton.


Planting Calendar for Okra

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

Okra are not cold tolerant which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant okra
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant okra
Probably not a good time to plant okra

The earliest that you can plant okra in Yankton 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your okra indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Yankton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Yankton and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Yankton it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your okra in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Yankton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Yankton

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