One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

One way of estimating when it's the best time to plant string beans is to consult the USDA zone info for Springfield.

Planting Calendar for String beans

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

Since string beans are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant string beans in Springfield is March. However, you really should wait until April 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 September. If you wait any later than that and your string beans may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your string beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Springfield. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Springfield and it is different every year. Half of the time in Springfield there is a last frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your string beans if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Springfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

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

Plants to Grow in Springfield

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