One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The first chance to plant string beans in Monterey should be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for String beans

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

Since string beans are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant string beans in Monterey 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your string beans may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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 Monterey the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Monterey may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Monterey you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your string beans in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Monterey

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 Monterey

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