Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when you can plant runner beans by reviewing the USDA zone info for Waterford.

Planting Calendar for Runner beans

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

Runner beans require warm weather which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant runner beans in Waterford 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 April 15 in Waterford. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Waterford is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Waterford you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your runner beans in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Waterford

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 Waterford

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