Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant pole beans in Rock Falls can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pole beans

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

You really shouldn't plant pole beans until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant pole beans in Rock Falls 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 pole beans and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pole beans may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your pole beans indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Rock Falls is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Rock Falls there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your pole beans if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rock Falls

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 Rock Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rock Falls.