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 first chance to plant string beans in Alton should be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

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.

Since string beans require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant string beans in Alton 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your string beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Alton. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Alton may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Alton it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your string beans in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Alton

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