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.

In Des Plaines you can estimate when to plant snap beans by looking at 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.

Snap beans are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant snap beans in Des Plaines 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your snap beans may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your snap beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Des Plaines. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Des Plaines is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Des Plaines last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your snap beans if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Des Plaines

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 Plaines

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