One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The earliest that you can plant snap beans in Santa Monica can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Snap beans

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

You can not plant snap beans until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant snap beans in Santa Monica 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. If you wait any later than that and your snap beans may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your snap beans indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Santa Monica. You can expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Monica is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Monica last frost occurs after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to protect your snap beans in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Monica

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Monica

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