One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

One way of making a decision about when to plant runner beans is to use the USDA zone info for Gunnison.

Planting Calendar for Runner beans

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant runner beans until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in Gunnison is May. However, you really should wait until June 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 August. If you wait any later than that and your runner beans may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Gunnison the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Gunnison may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Gunnison you get a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your runner beans if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gunnison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

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

Plants to Grow in Gunnison

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