One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant runner beans in Albert Lea should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Runner beans

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

Since runner beans are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in Albert Lea is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant runner beans and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your runner beans may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Albert Lea. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Albert Lea is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Albert Lea it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your runner beans if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Albert Lea

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Albert Lea

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Albert Lea.