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

By referring to the USDA zone info for Sacramento it's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant runner beans.

Planting Calendar for Runner beans

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

Runner beans are not cold tolerant which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In Sacramento the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Sacramento may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Sacramento last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your runner beans in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sacramento

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Sacramento

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