When to Plant Snap beans in Saco, ME

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Saco it's a good idea to determine when it's the best time to plant snap beans.


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 require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after all chance of 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 Saco 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your snap beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Saco may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Saco there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your snap beans if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Saco

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 Saco

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