One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 reviewing the USDA zone info for El Cerrito you should be able to figure out 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 has passed.

Since string beans are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant string beans in El Cerrito is February. However, you really should wait until March 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 September. Any later than that and your string beans may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your string beans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In El Cerrito the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for El Cerrito and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in El Cerrito you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to protect your string beans in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Cerrito

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in El Cerrito

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Cerrito.