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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Lake Mills it's a good idea to determine when you can plant okra.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

Since okra do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Lake Mills 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 really do well. If you are starting your okra indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Lake Mills. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember 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 Lake Mills and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Mills you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your okra in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Mills

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 Lake Mills

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Mills.