Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant snap beans by using the USDA zone info for Santa Maria.

Planting Calendar for Snap beans

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

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

The earliest that you can plant snap beans in Santa Maria 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. If you wait any later than that and your snap beans may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your snap beans indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Santa Maria. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Maria and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Maria you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your snap beans in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Maria

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 Santa Maria

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Maria.