One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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 chance to plant runner beans in Columbia should be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Runner beans

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

Since runner beans require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in Columbia 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 runner beans and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your runner beans may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your runner beans indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Columbia. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Columbia is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Columbia you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your runner beans if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbia

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