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

In Watseka you can determine when it's the best time to plant scarlet runner beans by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Scarlet Runner Beans

Frost tolerance for scarlet runner beans:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's probably not a good idea to plant scarlet runner beans until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant scarlet runner beans in Watseka 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 scarlet runner beans and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your scarlet runner beans may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your scarlet runner beans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Watseka the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Watseka is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Watseka you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your scarlet runner beans if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Watseka

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Watseka

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