One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Genoa it's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant runner beans.

Planting Calendar for Runner beans

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

Since runner beans do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in Genoa 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

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

Since the USDA zone info for Genoa is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Genoa it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your runner beans in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Genoa

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 Genoa

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