One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 first chance to plant string beans in Oak Ridge should be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for String beans

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

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

The earliest that you can plant string beans in Oak Ridge 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 string beans and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your string beans may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your string beans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Oak Ridge the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Oak Ridge and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Oak Ridge you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your string beans in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Ridge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Oak Ridge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Ridge.