Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant string beans in Des Moines can be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for String beans

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

Since string beans require warm weather it is necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant string beans in Des Moines 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

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Des Moines is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Des Moines it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your string beans if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Des Moines

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 Des Moines

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Des Moines.