When to Plant Green Beans in Alabama: Spring and Fall Dates for Central, North and South Alabama
Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s own green beans dates for Alabama, row by row and never averaged, beside NOAA frost dates for Huntsville International Airport, Birmingham Airport, and Montgomery Airport.
Updated
Figures checked against their sources on ; next check .
The green bean entry under the heading “Beans, Bush Snap” in Alabama’s calendar is read across 3 parts of the state. Dates here are printed as months or as offsets, not as exact days, so the entries read: Central Alabama (April), South Alabama (About 10 days earlier than Central Alabama), and North Alabama (About 10 days later than Central Alabama).
Alabama’s dates, row by row
Alabama’s chart gives 50 - 60 days to maturity for the row, counted from planting seed or setting transplants in the garden.
| Part of the state | Spring planting | Fall planting |
|---|---|---|
| Central Alabama | April | Aug. 5-20 |
| South Alabama | About 10 days earlier than Central Alabama | About 10 days later than Central Alabama |
| North Alabama | About 10 days later than Central Alabama | About 10 days earlier than Central Alabama |
How the Alabama calendar is built
For South Alabama the chart says to make spring plantings approximately 10 days earlier and fall plantings 10 days later; for North Alabama, spring plantings about 10 days later and fall plantings 10 days earlier. The same chart lists recommended cultivars, days to maturity, the seed or plants needed for 100 feet and the row and plant spacing.
Varieties Alabama names
If you want names to look for, the source lists Contender, Green Crop, and Derby.
We have not tested any of these, and the page adds no names of its own.
Do green beans get an indoor start?
Indoor starts are not part of the usual routine here: in UNH’s list, green beans are sown where they will grow.
UNH lists beans as a seed crop sown after the last frost, with no indoor start, so the saved sources give no seed-starting weeks for beans at all.
UNH’s own timing for green beans is after the last frost, so Alabama’s printed window and UNH’s rule of thumb can be set side by side.
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| University of New Hampshire | Not started indoors; sow seed after the last frost |
Frost dates for Alabama cities
These are station dates from weather records, not county averages. Pick the station closest to your garden and elevation, and open its link for the full set of probabilities.
The last column maps a station to a region only where Alabama Cooperative Extension System or its county list settles it.
| Station | Last spring 32°F | First fall 32°F | Region in Alabama’s calendar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huntsville International Airport, Alabama | March 24 | November 8 | North Alabama |
| Birmingham Airport, Alabama | March 21 | November 11 | Central Alabama |
| Montgomery Airport, Alabama | March 13 | November 13 | Central Alabama |
| Mobile Downtown Airport, Alabama | February 21 | December 6 | South Alabama |
Worked example
NOAA’s normals for Birmingham Airport, Alabama give March 21 as the even-odds date of the last spring 32°F night, and November 11 as the even-odds first fall one.
Only months are given for Central Alabama: April. The frost date of March 21 lands before the window opens.
On the fall side, Central Alabama’s last planting date of August 20 leaves 83 days before the November 11 median first freeze.
Treat the result as a way to see how far the printed dates sit from a real frost record. Your yard may run weeks off the station, so repeat the sum with the station closest to you.
Before you rely on these dates
The page carries a review date of September 2018, older than most of the calendars used on this site.
Soil that is cold or soaked can hold a crop back even inside the printed window, so check the ground as well as the calendar.
Sources (3)
- Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Planting Guide for Home Gardening in Alabama, ANR-0063, reviewed September 2018 aces.edu
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, annual and seasonal normals (frost/freeze probabilities by station) ncei.noaa.gov
- University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, Growing Vegetables: When to Plant Your Vegetable Garden (fact sheet) extension.unh.edu