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.

The earliest that you can plant snap beans in Portola Valley should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Snap beans

Frost tolerance for snap beans:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

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

The earliest that you can plant snap beans in Portola Valley 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 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 really do well. If you are starting your snap beans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Portola Valley and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Portola Valley it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to cover your snap beans if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portola Valley

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 Portola Valley

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Portola Valley.