One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant string beans is to check out the USDA zone info for Sussex.

Planting Calendar for String beans

Frost tolerance for string beans:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably not a good idea to plant string beans until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant string beans in Sussex 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your string beans may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your string beans indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Sussex. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Sussex is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Sussex it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your string beans if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sussex

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Sussex

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