One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In Altoona you can determine when it's the best time to plant snap beans by looking at the USDA zone info.

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 you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant snap beans in Altoona 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. If you wait any later than that and your snap beans may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your snap beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Altoona. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Altoona is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Altoona last frost occurs after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your snap beans if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Altoona

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 Altoona

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