One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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 Zone 8b it's a good idea to estimate when it's the best time 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.

String beans require warm weather which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant string beans in Zone 8b 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your string beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 8b the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 8b is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 8b you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your string beans in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 8b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Zone 8b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 8b.