One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant snap beans in Crystal Lake can be figured out 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 the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You really shouldn't plant snap beans until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant snap beans in Crystal Lake 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. If you are starting your snap beans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Crystal Lake. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Crystal Lake and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Crystal Lake you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your snap beans in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Crystal Lake

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 Crystal Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Crystal Lake.