Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when you can plant string beans is to use the USDA zone info for Fort Smith.

Planting Calendar for String beans

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

You should not plant string beans until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant string beans in Fort Smith 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 string beans and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your string beans may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your string beans indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Fort Smith. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Smith is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Fort Smith you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your string beans in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Smith

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Smith

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Smith.