🫘 When to Plant Green Beans

🥬 Vegetable
Warm Season

Direct sow only; beans don't transplant well

📅 Planting Calendar by USDA Zone

Select your zone to highlight your exact planting dates. Dates are calculated from each zone's average frost dates.

Find my zone
Zone Last Frost Start Indoors Transplant Direct Sow
Zone 2A May 30 Jun 6
Zone 3B May 15 May 22
Zone 4A May 8 May 15
Zone 4B May 1 May 8
Zone 5A Apr 25 May 2
Zone 5B Apr 18 Apr 25
Zone 6A Apr 21 Apr 28
Zone 6B Apr 10 Apr 17
Zone 7A Apr 5 Apr 12
Zone 7B Mar 28 Apr 4
Zone 8A Mar 20 Mar 27
Zone 8B Mar 12 Mar 19
Zone 9A Feb 28 Mar 7
Zone 9B Feb 15 Feb 22
Zone 10A Feb 1 Feb 8
Zone 10B Jan 15 Jan 22
Zone 11A Jan 1 Jan 8

Green beans are a productive, beginner-friendly crop. Bush types don’t need support; pole types produce longer.

Top Growing Tips

  • Direct sow after last frost — beans don’t transplant well
  • Inoculate seeds with rhizobia bacteria for better nitrogen fixation
  • Bush beans produce a concentrated harvest; pole beans produce all season
  • Pick regularly to keep plants producing
  • Don’t work in the bean patch when foliage is wet to prevent disease

Companion Planting

Good companions: corn, squash, carrots, celery, cucumbers

Avoid planting near: onions, garlic, fennel

Harvest Timeline

50-60 days (bush), 60-70 days (pole) from seed