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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Federal Way it's possible to estimate when to plant runner beans.

Planting Calendar for Runner beans

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

Since runner beans are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in Federal Way 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your runner beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Federal Way the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Federal Way is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Federal Way it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your runner beans in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Federal Way

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Federal Way

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Federal Way.