The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening 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 figuring out when it's the best time to plant string beans is to use the USDA zone info for Cedar Rapids.

Planting Calendar for String beans

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

String beans do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant string beans in Cedar Rapids 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 fully mature. If you are starting your string 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 Cedar Rapids. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Cedar Rapids is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Cedar Rapids last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your string beans in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cedar Rapids

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 Cedar Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cedar Rapids.