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

A common way of estimating when it's possible to plant runner beans is to check out the USDA zone info for New Bern.

Planting Calendar for Runner beans

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

Since runner beans do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in New Bern 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in New Bern. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for New Bern is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in New Bern last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your runner beans in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Bern

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

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

Plants to Grow in New Bern

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Bern.