When to Plant Snap beans in River Forest, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant snap beans in River Forest by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Snap beans

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

Since snap beans do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant snap beans
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant snap beans
Probably not a good time to plant snap beans

The earliest that you can plant snap beans in River Forest 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. Any later than that and your snap beans may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your snap beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in River Forest. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for River Forest may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in River Forest you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your snap beans in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for River Forest

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 River Forest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for River Forest.