One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant snap beans by referring to the USDA zone info for Hanford.

Planting Calendar for Snap beans

Frost tolerance for snap beans:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You should not plant snap beans until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant snap beans in Hanford is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant snap beans and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your snap beans may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your snap beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Hanford. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hanford is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Hanford you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your snap beans if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hanford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Hanford

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