The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine 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.

The first opportunity to plant snap beans in Richmond can be figured out by referring to 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.

Since snap beans do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant snap beans in Richmond 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 fully mature. If you are starting your snap beans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Richmond. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your snap beans if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond

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 Richmond

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