Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant string beans is to examine the USDA zone info for Shafter.

Planting Calendar for String beans

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

Since string beans require warm weather you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In Shafter the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Shafter and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Shafter there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your string beans in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.