Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

A way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant runner beans is to refer to the USDA zone info for Council Bluffs.

Planting Calendar for Runner beans

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

You should not plant runner beans until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in Council Bluffs 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. Any later than that and your runner beans may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your runner beans indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Council Bluffs the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Council Bluffs is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Council Bluffs it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your runner beans if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Council Bluffs

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 Council Bluffs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Council Bluffs.