One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Sweetwater can be used to estimate when 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 the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Sweetwater 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your okra indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Sweetwater. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sweetwater and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Sweetwater last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your okra in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sweetwater

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Sweetwater

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