Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. 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 figure out when to plant pole beans by checking out the USDA zone info for Ottawa.

Planting Calendar for Pole beans

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

It's probably a bad idea to 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 Ottawa 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. Any later than that and your pole beans may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your pole beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Ottawa the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ottawa 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 Ottawa there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your pole beans in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ottawa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

Plants to Grow in Ottawa

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