When to Plant Pole beans in Watertown, SD

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.

It's a good idea to determine when you can plant pole beans by using the USDA zone info for Watertown.


Planting Calendar for Pole beans

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

Since pole beans are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant pole beans
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant pole beans
Probably not a good time to plant pole beans

The earliest that you can plant pole beans in Watertown 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 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pole beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Watertown the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Watertown is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Watertown there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your pole beans if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Watertown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Watertown

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