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.

You will be able to estimate when you can plant snap beans by using the USDA zone info for Ottawa.

Planting Calendar for Snap beans

Frost tolerance for snap beans:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant snap beans until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Ottawa. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Ottawa may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Ottawa you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your snap beans if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ottawa

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 Ottawa

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