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

One way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant runner beans is to check out the USDA zone info for Elgin.

Planting Calendar for Runner beans

Frost tolerance for runner beans:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Runner beans do not do well in cold weather which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in Elgin 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 runner beans and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your runner beans may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your runner beans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Elgin. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Elgin may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Elgin you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your runner beans in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elgin

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 Elgin

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