One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Chesapeake it's possible to estimate when it's possible to plant string beans.

Planting Calendar for String beans

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

String beans do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant string beans in Chesapeake 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 string beans and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your string beans may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your string beans indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Chesapeake. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your string beans if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chesapeake

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 Chesapeake

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