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.

In Sumter you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant pole beans by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pole beans

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

Since pole beans require warm weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pole beans in Sumter 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 really do well. If you are starting your pole beans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Sumter is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Sumter you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your pole beans in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sumter

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 Sumter

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