One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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 determining when you can plant green beans is to examine the USDA zone info for Berkeley.

Planting Calendar for Green beans

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

You really shouldn't plant green beans until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant green beans in Berkeley is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant green beans and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your green beans may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your green beans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Berkeley. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Berkeley and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Berkeley you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your green beans in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Berkeley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Berkeley

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