When to Plant Snap beans in Altoona, IA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant snap beans in Altoona can be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Snap beans

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

You really shouldn't plant snap beans until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant snap beans
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant snap beans
Probably not a good time to plant snap beans

The earliest that you can plant snap beans in Altoona 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. If you wait any later than that and your snap beans may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your snap beans indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Altoona. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Altoona is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Altoona it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your snap beans in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Altoona

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 Altoona

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