One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

In Winchester you can determine when it's a good idea to plant runner beans by reviewing 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.

It's probably a bad idea to plant runner beans until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in Winchester 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 really do well. Starting your runner beans indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Winchester. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Winchester may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Winchester last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your runner beans in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Winchester

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 Winchester

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