Planting timing · Frost-anchored
When to plant green beans
Plant green beans after frost risk has passed at your location, not on a national calendar month. Succession intervals are source-specific. Harvest timing is not this page.
Growing guidance is general information. Timing, spacing, and care depend on cultivar, weather, soil, and local conditions. Check the sources and adjust the plan for your garden.
Your window
Use your last-spring-frost history — not a national month.
A ZIP calculator is not live on this page. Save the bed to store the window you actually used.
Sow after frost risk at your site. Bush vs pole spacing lives on the care page.
Support and trellis notes live on green bean plant care.
Cited frost and succession (not a national date)
Separate source assertions — not a BioArva average.
- Illinois Extension (Illinois): beans are sensitive to cold temperatures and frost; they should be planted after all danger of frost has passed in the spring. Timing on their sheet — not a national plant date.
- Illinois Extension (Illinois): if the soil has warmed before the average last-frost date, an early planting may be made a week to 10 days before this date. Timing on their sheet — not a national plant date.
- Illinois Extension (Illinois): their sheet lists planting every 2 to 4 weeks until early August. Succession interval on their sheet — not a BioArva calendar and not a yield promise.
- Maryland Extension (Maryland): seed after danger of frost is past. Frost will damage plant tissue. Timing/hardiness on their sheet — not a national plant date.
- Maryland Extension (Maryland): their sheet lists planting snap beans every 2 to 3 weeks from the frost-free date through mid-to-late July. Succession interval on their sheet — not a BioArva calendar and not a yield promise.
- Maryland Extension (Maryland): from direct garden sowing, their sheet lists snap beans 50–60 days and pole beans 60–110 days. Days-to-maturity on their sheet — not a yield promise.
- Iowa State (Iowa): the last practical date for planting snap beans on their sheet is August 1. Iowa calendar — not a national plant date.
- Iowa State (Iowa): for continuous harvest, plant bush cultivars every 2 to 3 weeks. Succession interval on their sheet — not a BioArva calendar and not a yield promise.
- Iowa State (Iowa): beans should be planted after the danger of frost has passed; in central Iowa, they say it is usually safe to begin planting around May 10. Iowa calendar on their sheet — not a national plant date.
- WVU Extension (West Virginia): beans are warm-weather crops, requiring a soil temperature of 60°F for proper germination, and cannot tolerate frost. Timing on their sheet — not a national plant date.
- WVU Extension (West Virginia): planting in soil with a temperature that’s too cool can result in poor germination and seed rot. Source-observed soil-temperature context — not a diagnosis.
- WVU Extension (West Virginia): beans prefer direct sunlight for eight to 10 hours per day. Light note on their sheet — not a site ranking.
- UGA Extension (Georgia): green beans grow best when air temperatures range from 65°F to 85°F. Temperature range on their sheet — not a BioArva climate zone.
- UGA Extension (Georgia): soil temperatures should be at least 55°F for good seed germination. Timing on their sheet — not a national plant date.
- Utah State (Utah): start planting beans one week before the last frost-free date for your area. Timing on their sheet — not a national plant date.
- Utah State (Utah): seedlings will emerge in 7–10 days when planted in soil that has warmed to 65–85°F. Germination note on their sheet — not a BioArva climate zone.
- UMN Extension (Minnesota): plant beans once the soil has warmed; in much of Minnesota, this is not until late May or even early June. Minnesota calendar on their sheet — not a national plant date.
Cited seed depth and establishment (not a BioArva average)
Separate source assertions — not a BioArva average.
- Illinois Extension (Illinois): seeds of most varieties tend to crack and germinate poorly if the soil's moisture content is too high; they say never soak bean seeds before planting. Seed note on their sheet — not a BioArva seed treatment.
- Iowa State (Iowa): bean seeds should be planted 1 to 1½ inches deep. Depth on their sheet — not a BioArva average.
- Maryland Extension (Maryland): cover seed with 1/4 to 1/2 inch of soil or compost. Depth on their sheet — not a BioArva average.
- UGA Extension (Georgia): green beans can be directly seeded in the garden and do not need to be started as transplants. Direct-sow note on their sheet — not a national method ranking.
- UGA Extension (Georgia): green beans should receive six to eight hours or more of sunlight every day. Light note on their sheet — not a site ranking.
- Iowa State (Iowa): bush cultivars are planted in rows 2 feet apart with seeds spaced 1 to 2 inches apart; after seedlings emerge, thin bush snap beans to 3 to 4 inches between plants. Spacing on their sheet — not a BioArva average.
- UGA Extension (Georgia): irrigate beans immediately after planting; keep the seed bed moist, but not soggy, for the first week until germination occurs. Establishment-water note on their sheet — not a BioArva irrigation schedule.
Do green beans like shade or sun?
UGA Extension (Georgia): green beans should receive six to eight hours or more of sunlight every day. Light note on their sheet — not a site ranking.
What to record in the Field Book
Save the bed with the crop and the date. You may add a photo and notes. Compare entries you have recorded with each other — not with a diagnosis from this page. If you want an identification, bring the record to local Extension.
Save this bed. See it coming next year.
Your checks stay in the Field Book so next season is not a guess.
How we know — methodology. Ranges and assertions are cited per source, not blended.