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

One way of making a decision about when you can plant pole beans is to look at the USDA zone info for Grand Rapids.

Planting Calendar for Pole beans

Frost tolerance for pole beans:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

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

The earliest that you can plant pole beans in Grand Rapids 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 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 grow to maturity. Starting your pole beans indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Grand Rapids the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Grand Rapids is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Grand Rapids there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to protect your pole beans if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Grand Rapids

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-35°F
Highest Expected Low	-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Grand Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Grand Rapids.