One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant okra is to examine the USDA zone info for Zone 5b.

Planting Calendar for Okra

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

It's not a good idea to plant okra until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant okra in Zone 5b 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 5b the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Zone 5b is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 5b last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your okra in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 5b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 5b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 5b.