Green beans are a gardening favorite. They can grow anywhere in the US and are a good crop for those just starting out in gardening. They go by the name of string beans, green beans or snap beans. Green beans should be planted when the soil temperature reaches about 70 degrees Fahrenheit for best results.
Plant seeds after the last killing frost of spring. Green beans like fertile, well-drained soil. Add compost to your plot and mix well. The compost helps the soil drain well and releases nutrients over time. The two main types of green beans are bush beans and pole beans.
Bush beans, as the name indicates, grow in a bush to a height of 18″-24″. Pole beans grow taller and consequently need support provided a trellis, stake or fence.
Bush beans are best grown in rows two feet apart. Make a trench in the soil and plant seeds 1 1/2 inches deep and one inch apart.
Cover with an inch or soil. When the seedlings are three inches tall, thin to allow four inches between plants so your plants have room to grow. Bush varieties are ready to harvest in 50–55 days.
Bush beans usually produce all at once. It is a good idea to plant seeds at two-week intervals so you can have a longer harvest season. Pole beans grow upright with the support of a stake, trellis or fence.
They are ready for harvest in 50–60 days. Before planting pole bean seeds pull the soil into a mound and plant five to seven seeds in each mound. You will need to train your plants onto the supporting structure as they grow.
Simply wrap the vines around the structure (fence, stake or trellis) as it grows. One main advantage of growing pole beans is that they take up less ground space than the bush type. Another advantage is that pole beans produce over a longer period of time than bush varieties. Green beans like full sunlight.
They will grow in shaded areas but their output will be reduced. Water your plants until the ground is moist, not wet. Water plants weekly. During the warmest part of the summer, your plants may require more frequent watering.
Shallow cultivation of the soil around plants helps to reduce disease. Most plant diseases prefer wet soil. Cultivation allows more air to get into the soil. Some pests that may attack your beans include grasshoppers, caterpillars, and plant lice.
Grasshoppers and caterpillars chew plants. Plant lice suck the juices from the plants. Natural pesticides are preferable to chemicals when it comes to gardening.
You can make your own by adding three medium, sliced onions, five cloves of garlic, and three hot peppers to one gallon of water. Let stand overnight. Strain and put liquid into a spray bottle. Use whenever you see an infestation.
Spray leaves until they are wet. Green beans contain a variety of nutrients essential for healthy human growth. These include Vitamins A, E, K and C. They also contain phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium. Beans are a good source of protein.
Harvest green beans when they are young and tender — when the seeds inside start to make the pods bulge slightly. Mid-morning, after the dew has dried off is the best time to pick green beans.
Simply pull the beans gently off the stalk. Avoid breaking the stem. Your beans may be frozen, canned or pickled.
Green beans are easy to grow. They require little care and are a favorite of gardeners. Green beans are a good source of vitamins and minerals that promote healthy human growth.
Having grown bush type green beans (mostly Blue Lake and Tendergreen) for nearly 30 years, I have found that spacing the rows 30”-36” apart allows better access for picking. Also, spacing the seeds 1” apart, only to later thin the seedlings to 4” apart means potentially wasting 3 out of every 4 seeds you plant. I prefer to plant the seeds at the desired spacing because the bushes will expand to fill the gap created by an occasional seed that doesn’t grow.
These bush varieties also produce continuously as the bush expands, for multiple pickings over several weeks, not all at once. Picking by pulling the beans off the stem can be damaging to nearby blooms and young developing bean pods. Consequently, I use small scissors to snip the stems of the beans I want to harvest now, and there will be more later.
Great ideas , thank you. We always grew a lot of beans and at harvest I would eat them as I picked them . Nothing better than home grown produce !!!!