One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

It's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant okra by checking out the USDA zone info for Ripon.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

You really shouldn't 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 Ripon 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 fully mature. If you are starting your okra indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Ripon is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Ripon you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your okra in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ripon

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 Ripon

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