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Growing Beans
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Beans
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Beans
Green beans are a staple of every vegetable garden because they are easy to grow—even in limited space—and incredible productive! Here is useful information on how to plant, grow, and harvest green beans—both the pole bean type and bush bean type.
All green beans are tender annuals. The main difference between bush and pole beans is the plants’ growing styles.
- Bush beans tend to grow more compactly (about two-feet tall) and do not require support.
- Pole beans will grow as a climbing vine that will grow 10 to 15 feet tall. Therefore, pole beans require a trellis or staking. Watch this video to learn how to support beans properly.
- Bush beans generally require less maintenance and are easier to grow, but pole beans typically yield more beans and are mostly disease-resistant.
- Bush beans produce before pole beans in about 50 to 55 days; pole beans will take 55 to 65 days.
- Bush beans often come in all at once, so stagger your planting every two weeks. Pole beans need their vines to grow and will produce for a month or two if you keep harvesting.
Though most green beans are indeed green, they also come in purple, red, yellow and streaked varieties.
Planting
- Beans are best grow in soil with normal fertility. Beans don’t need supplemental fertilizer as they fix their own nitrogen. However, poor soil should still be amended with aged manure or compost in the fall prior to planting.
- Seeds are best down directly in the ground anytime after the last spring frost; minimum soil temperature is 48 degrees F. Don’t plant too early or the cool soil will delay germination and the seeds could also rot.
- Do not start green bean seeds indoors; they may not survive transplanting.
- Sow bush bean seeds 1 inch deep and 2 inches apart in rows 18 inches apart. Plant a little deeper in sandy soils (but not too deep).
- For pole beans, set up trellises or tepees first for support. For a tepee: Tie 3 or 4 (or more) 7-foot-long bamboo poles or long, straight branches together at the top and splay the legs in a circle. Then plant 3 or 4 seeds around each pole (about 1 inch deep). As vines appear, train them to wind up the poles. For more stability, wrap string/wire around the poles about halfway up, encircling the tepee; this gives the vines something to grab. Plant pole seeds 3 inches apart.
- If you like pole beans, another easy support for them is a “cattle panel”—a portable section of wire fence—16 feet long and 5 feet tall. The beans will climb with ease and you won’t have to get into contorted positions to pick them.
- For a harvest that lasts all summer, sow beans every 2 weeks. If you’re going to be away, skip a planting. Beans do not wait for anyone!
- Rotate crops each year.
How to Grow Beans From Planting to Harvest
Care
- Mulch soil to retain moisture; make sure that it is well-drained. Beans have shallow roots so mulch keep them cool.
- Water regularly, from start of pod to set, about 2 inches per week. If you do not keep beans well watered, they will stop flowering. Water on sunny days so foliage will not remain soaked.
- If necessary, fertlize after heavy bloom and the set of pods. Butavoid a high-nitrogen fertilizer or you will get lush foliage and few beans. Just add a side dressing of compost or composted mature halfway through their growing season.
- Weed diligently and use shallow cultivation to prevent disturbing the root systems.
- Pinch ou tthe tops of pole beans when they reach the top of the support to force them to put energy into producing more pods.
- In high heat, use row covers; hot weather can cause blossoms to drop from plants, reducing harvest.
Pests/Diseases
- Anthracnose
- Aphids
- Cucumber Beetles
- Cutworms
- Japanese Beetles
- Mexican Bean Beetles (These beetles eat the flowers, beans and especially leaves of beans.)
- Powdery Mildew
- Mosaic Viruses (Try to keep vines dry by not crowding plants and providing ample air circulation)
- Slugs/Snail (These pests are attracted to damp conditions.)
- White Mold (Avoid damp conditions)
- Whiteflies
- Woodchucks
Harvest/Storage
- Harvest beans in the morning when their sugar level is highest.
- Green beans are picked young and tender before the seeds inside have fully developed.
- Pick green beans every day; the more you pick, the more beans grow.
- Look for firm, sizable that are firm and can be snapped, generally as thick as a pencil.
- Snap or cut off the plant, do not tear the plant. Fresh beans should snap easily when broken.
- Once you see the seeds inside bulging, green beans are past their peak and will taste tough.
- Store beans in a moisture-proof, airtight container in the refrigerator. Beans will toughen over time even when stored properly.
- Beans can be kept fresh for about 4 days, or blanched and frozen immediately after harvesting.
- Beans can also be canned or pickled.
Recommended Varieties
The options are endless; here are some varieties to consider:
- Chinese (aka Asian) long beans: slender 1- to 2-foot pods. Try ‘Orient Wonder’, ‘Red Noodle’, or ‘Yardlong.’ All pole.
- French green beans (aka haricot verts): thin, tender, 3- to 5-inch pods. Try ‘Calima’, ‘Masai’, or ‘Maxibel’; in a container, plant ‘Mascotte’. All bush.
- Italian/Romano: wide, flat 6- to 8-inch pods even in the hottest summers. Try ‘Early Bush Italian’, extra-large-pod ‘Jumbo’, or ‘Roma II’. All bush.
- Purple beans: 5- to 6-inch pods are deep purpose when raw and turn green when cooked. Try ‘Amethyst’, ‘Royal Burgandy’, or ‘Velour’. All bush.
- Snap beans (aka string beans or stringless): slender, 5- to 7-inch pods. Try ‘Blue Lake 274’ (bush), heirloom ‘Kentucky Wonder’ (bush or pole), or ‘Provider’ (bush).
- Yellow wax beans: 5- to 7-inch pods with a milder flavor than green varieties. Try stringless ‘Cherokee’ (bush), classic ‘Golden Wax’ (bush), or ‘Monte Gusto’ (pole).
- ‘Bean Mascotte’ (bush): Compact, ideal for container gardens.
Wit & Wisdom
Beans are commonly used in everyday expressions to indicate something of little value. Consequently, someone who isn’t worth a hill of beans is seen as being worth very little, although one could argue that today a hill of beans actually costs a pretty penny.
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Reader Comments
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Leaves of pole beans are yellowish
Help!
What is wrong. Too much water? or not enough? or ??
yellow leaves on beans
There are several reasons why bean leaves yellow. It could be root rot which is due to overwatering. Or, it could be lack of sunlight as beans need at least 6 hours of direct sunshine. Or, it could be lack of nitrogen in your fertilizer. Another common reason for yellowing leaves is bacterial blight which is introduced to a field by infected seed. A fungicide spray can sometimes halt the disease. Finally, yellows leaves can mean mosaic virus. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot you can do. Remove infected plants and purchase only disease-resistant seeds. See more about bean diseases: http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/vegetables/edible-bean-d...
Kentucky pole beans.
I have the prettiest vines, but no blooms. I planted them the last week of April. Am I not being patient enough?
no bean flowers
Usually, Kentucky pole beans take about 50 to 65 days to harvest, so something may be wrong, although you might wait a week or two to be sure. Could it be that the plant has received too much nitrogen? This encourages leaves over flower formation. High heat, or starting seeds too early, can affect flowering as well. Make sure that the plants have at least 6 hours of full sun each day, and enough water.
Is the green bean plant done producing?
I harvested all the greens on my plants. Should I tear the plants up or will they produce more?
Thanks
Blue Lake Green Beans and Wax Bush Beans
I am planting Blue Lake green beans and was wondering if I could put a a row of yellow wax beans on the end or will I end up with blue beans?
blue beans?
Blue beans would be fun but no, that will not happen. Each variety will retain its distinct color.
Growing indoors?
I live north of Atlanta in an apartment with a very sunny room in which I am making my first attempt to grow beans, peas and zucchini.
I closed the air vent in that room.
I must have over watered and these little bugs started flying and round the soil and round plants.
Possibly fungus gnats?
I stopped watering but they did some damage.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your thoughts.
fungus gnats
If you believe that the flies are fungus gnats, that indicates moisture. Sometimes they pop up after overwatering and/or poor drainage. To control, let the soil dry out down to 1 or 2 inches, and if your plants can stand it, do that between each watering. Yellow sticky traps will lure the adults, helping to prevent the females from laying more eggs. The adults do not damage the plants, but the larvae can. If your room is humid with no ventilation, then you might want to open the vent to allow some air circulation (which helps to prevent diseases, too), as long as the vent is not allowing very cold or hot air to come in. Hope this helps!
HOW TO BUILD A TRELLIS AND SUPPORTS FOR CLIMBING VEGETABLES
very educational very nice easy to follow loved it. I needed to learn how to build it better than I did last yeah.
thank you
Bean harvest amount
Hi! How many beans per plant do you suppose I might average for pole beans (a mix of purple, yellow, and roma II)? Trying to figure out how many to plant for 5 finicky little kids! :)
bean yield
The yield for pole beans will vary depending on several factors, including variety and growing conditions. Pole beans yield more than bush beans over the long term. In general, a rule of thumb is to plant 10 to 20 plants per person. However, if you think that your kids will get bored with beans, you can lessen that amount. Some gardeners plant about 3 to 5 plants per person. Keeping up with picking mature pods will lengthen harvest time.
Green Bean Production
Last season I had wonderful plants, but very few beans until later in the season. We are in the high desert, with temperatures reaching 115 degrees. Are beans like tomatoes in that they will not bear fruit in higher temperatures??
few beans
Hi, Steve, you’ve got it exactly right. If it gets too hot, plants can not/do not produce. Maybe you can start your plants sooner (or later?) so that they peak before the temps do…? Experiment a bit. Home growing is not an exact science anyway.
All the best
thank you
i had a successful harvest on my beans thanks to you thank you!
best beans
Congratulations, Jacob! So nice of you to let us know. Just sayin, though … we never got any of the harvest!
Seriously—it was, and is, all YOU. You’re the one taking the time, tending the plants, watering, watching, weeding, spreading all the TLC. So happy to hear that you had a successful season, and we wish you an even better one this coming year. (It’s almost time for the seed catalogs to come out!)
Cheers!
bean flowers
how long till my flowers turn into beans?
flowers to beans
It’s usually a few days to a week that you would see bean pods develop where the flower appeared.
Large seed inside bean pod poison if eaten raw?
I grow scarlet runners and let some dry on the vine to plant the inner seed/bean next year but I recently read that all raw beans inside the mature pods are poisonous if not cooked.. Is this true?
Thanks.
Scarlet runner risks
It is not wise to eat scarlet runner beans raw. If well cooked, they—and you—should be fine. Saving a few pods, with beans inside, to plant next year should cause you no health problems.
Wax beans
How long dose it take for wax beans to grow and be ready to pick?
Time to Maturation
It takes about 60 days for wax beans to mature.
cultivation
i like to cultivate akara beans
string green beans
how to tell if someone is stealing your green beans ? what will the vine look like ?
Pole Beans
I panted yellow wax beans and Kentucky pole beans at the end of May in my greenhouse. I just had my first harvest of the yellow beans. My question is, why don't I have any blossoms on my pole beans yet? I am in Fairbanks, Alaska my pole beans are 12' plus now. They are supporte well and not next to the yellow beans.
no flowers
Pole beans may not flower if the temperature is too cool, too hot, or there is lots of wind. They also need at least 6 hours of sunlight. If you plant transplants, they will have a harder time establishing than those that were direct sown in the garden. It’s a puzzle why the yellow wax beans are doing much better, as they require about the same things. Days to maturity for the yellow wax might be slightly earlier, but they are basically equivalent. Fairbanks is USDA Hardiness Zone 1. Could it be that your strain of Kentucky bean prefers a warmer climate than your yellow wax bean? Check the overall health of the pole bean – any signs of damage or of pests or disease? That can slow down a plant as well.
Black beans
I live in Tennessee. Just harvested Black Beans. Thought I had more left to plant for a fall crop. Stupid me - forgot. No more. Now, when is the earliest time I can plant the beans I just harvested and shelled?
Thank you so much.
when to plant black beans
Hi, Juergen! You can check your planting dates here; just put in your zip code: http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates/zipcode/89429
At this time, we realized that we might have misunderstood your question: that it’s not about time to plant but about using freshly harvested seeds. So here’s our thoughts on the latter:
You should not plant beans again into the same soil, btw (bet you knew that); you should rotate crops in and out. And, you know if these are hybrid plant seeds, any resulting plant growth will vary considerably from the parent plant … right? Only heirlooms reproduce truly.
All things then, being equal, test your recently harvested seed, by rolling a few seeds into a damp paper towel. Put it into a glass or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid (so the towel will not dry out). Check it in 8 to 10 days to see what, if anything, is sprouting.
Hope this helps!
Bush beans
I live in CT. My beans are growing nicely however the gourds plant is taking over where some of the beans are. The beans have not flowered yet and I was wondering if it is safe to transplant them. Thanks.
relocating beans
If the plants had just been planted within a week or so, it might be OK. Otherwise, if they are established and have had time to send out roots, it might be better to keep them where they are. Some gardeners have moved their young beans to find that they take a long while to recover. Are these pole beans? Gourds/squash plants can take up space along the ground while climbing beans are compatible if they are given vertical support. Bush beans, however, might be a problem, as there might be competition for light, etc. You might try redirecting the gourd vines to give the beans a little open area. Hope this helps!
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