One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Alfred you can figure out when to plant scarlet runner beans by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Scarlet Runner Beans

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

It's not a good idea to plant scarlet runner beans until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant scarlet runner beans in Alfred 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 scarlet runner beans and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your scarlet runner beans may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your scarlet runner beans indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Alfred. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Alfred is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Alfred you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your scarlet runner beans in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alfred

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 Alfred

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