One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

You will be able to determine when you can plant pole beans by using the USDA zone info for Madison.

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.

Since pole beans are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pole beans in Madison 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. 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pole beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Madison. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Madison is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Madison you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your pole beans if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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