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 first opportunity to plant scarlet runner beans in Shafter should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Scarlet Runner Beans

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

It's not a good idea to plant scarlet runner beans until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant scarlet runner beans in Shafter 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 scarlet runner beans and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your scarlet runner beans may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your scarlet runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Shafter the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Shafter is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Shafter you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your scarlet runner beans if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Shafter

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Shafter

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