One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

The USDA zone info for Madison should be reffered to in order to estimate when it's a good idea to plant snap beans.

Planting Calendar for Snap beans

Frost tolerance for snap beans:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since snap 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 snap beans in Madison is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant snap beans and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your snap beans may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your snap beans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in Madison. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Madison is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Madison there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to protect your snap beans if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Madison

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