When to Plant Pole beans in Salem, MA

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The best time to plant pole beans in Salem 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 all chance of frost has passed.

You should not plant pole beans until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant pole beans in Salem 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. If you wait any later than that and your pole beans may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your pole beans indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Salem the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Salem is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Salem you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your pole beans in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Salem

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