Ever wondered how I grow green beans? No matter what name you give these legumes green beans, string beans, snap beans or even haricot ver they are delicious and easy to grow. Here’s what you need to grow green beans in your garden.
Unlike shelling beans eaten with the pod, green beans are consumed without it. The crunch that comes from biting into a green bean, whether it’s for kids or adults, is satisfying. You can also enjoy them steamed, sauteed, roasted, or blanched with butter, pepper and salt, or add them to soups and stews. Green beans can also be turned into a casserole by adding cream of mushroom and onions. Canners love green beans because they can enjoy an abundance of them for many months.
Although the term “string beans”, has been largely retained, many modern beans do not have the “string” along the seam. Snap beans are also available in yellow, purple, and multi-colour snap beans (green and violet).
When, Where And How To Plant Green Beans
When planting green beans, the first thing you need to know is whether it’s bush beans or pole beans. Bush beans don’t twine or climb like pole beans. Bush beans reach a certain height before they stop growing.
Plan to plant bush beans 10 days apart. This will help spread the harvest. Pole beans will continue to grow and produce until they are killed by frost or heat, so it is not necessary to stagger the planting time.
After the last spring frost, you can plant seeds in the ground 1 inch deep, in fertile soil that has been well worked. Green beans do best in soils with pH levels between 6.0-7.0. This is the range from slightly acidic up to neutral. A soil test can tell you whether the soil is at the right pH level and if any adjustments need to be made. Green beans need full sun and a minimum of six hours daily.
You can also buy green beans as seedlings, or start them indoors. Sow the seeds three weeks before you plan to transplant them outdoors in a sterile seed starting mix at temperatures between 60deg F and 85deg F. They will germinate within 5-10 days. Seedlings should be kept under grow lights to prevent them from becoming leggy. Once the soil outside reaches 70 degrees Fahrenheit, it can be planted out.
The day before you plant out your seedlings, ” harden off” them by putting them out for just a few minutes on the first day. Increase the time each day until the 10th day. The plants should be ready for a full day of direct sunlight by the end of the period.
Provide a trellis to allow pole beans to climb. Many garden trellises are available for purchase, but you can make your own with three or four bamboo stakes tied together into a teepee. Plant three to four seeds or seedlings on each pole and you will have a trellis that is covered in no time.
To maximize the efficiency of your bush bean planting and harvesting, place seedlings every 6-8 inches, in two rows, separated by 12 inches.
Cover the soil with 2 to 3 inches of organic mulch and water immediately after planting. Mulch retains moisture between watering and rainfalls and keeps the soil warm during cool nights. As it breaks down, organic mulch releases nutrients and creates a barrier to protect the foliage of the plants from pathogens.
For a fall harvest, in warm climates sow additional seeds at least 10-12 weeks before the first freeze.
Fertilizing Green Beans
Green beans, as legumes fix nitrogen with bacteria and produce their own fertilizer. You only need to plant them in soil richly amended with compost.
Watering Green Beans
It is important to keep up with the watering because green beans have shallow roots. During the hotter days of summer, they need 1 inch of water per week. When there is no rain forecast for the next week, you should apply more water.
Set automatic timers for soaker hoses and drip irrigation near the base of the plants to ensure that green beans are always getting the water they require. Avoid overhead watering as this will encourage disease. This is especially true if soil splashes onto leaves. Water should always be applied at the base of the plant, underneath the foliage.
Green Bean Pests and Diseases
Beans are a simple crop, but they require vigilance to avoid pest and disease problems.
- Mexican Bean Beetle is the most common pest on bean plants. It’s a relative of the beneficial Lady Beetle. It has an orange-colored back with black spots. It lays yellow eggs under bean leaves, which hatch into larvae that resemble tiny alligators. Remove eggs and larvae by hand, or use neem oils. Once they have established themselves, it is difficult to control them organically. The floating row cover can be used to create a physical barrier between the plants and beetles, but it is difficult to use with pole beans.
- Aphids have a soft, sucking body and are vectors of plant disease. They excrete honeydew as they consume plant leaves, which attracts other insects and ants. Aphids can be found on the underside of leaves. You can easily control them by sprinkling a stream of water on the plants
- Thrips can damage green bean leaves, flowers, and pods. However, they are so tiny that you may not see them. Keep your garden in good condition, as thrips can overwinter on weeds and plant waste.
- Leafhoppers can be small, wedge-shaped insects with a light green or gray color. They damage the bean foliage, spreading disease, by sucking up plant juices. PyGanic is an organic broad-spectrum insecticide made of pyrethrin derived from Chrysanthemum. It is useful for controlling leafhoppers. To avoid harming beneficial garden insects, it should be used only in a targeted way.
- Bean Common Mosaic Virus causes a mosaic-like pattern to appear on the leaves and can stunt or kill plants. Affected plants must be removed from your garden and thrown out, not composted. If mosaic virus is a problem in your garden, look for resistant varieties and keep insects away to prevent the spread of the virus.
- Bean Rust is a common fungal disease that affects beans. To reduce the spread of the fungus, avoid overhead watering. Also, don’t harvest pods or touch the leaves when they are still wet. Once the harvest has ended, destroy and remove infected plants to prevent the spores from overwintering and returning next season.
Green Beans Variety
When you see “green bean”, it is usually a cultivar or variety of Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean, French bean). Phaseolus coccineus is another species that can be eaten like green beans when young. It also has attractive red flowers.
Antigua bush beans have uniform dark green pods that are 5 inches long. They also resist disease. The plants mature in 55 to 60 days and grow up to 18 inches tall.
- Blue Lake Pole grows to 7 feet with pods ranging from 6-7 inches. This variety is popular for canning. Plants mature in 75 to 80 days. Blue Lake bush type is available with shorter pods.
- Borsalino has bright yellow pods with a peak flavour between 4 to 4 1/2 inches in length. Bush-type beans with productive, vigorous plants up to 20 inches tall and good disease resistance. They are ready to harvest after 60 days.
- Carminat has slender purple pods that are harvested at 8-9 inches. The slightly sweet pods become green when they’re cooked. Plants mature within 62 days
- Celine produces lilac-colored 5-inch pods in a bush-type plant of 20 inches. They reach maturity in 55 days.
- Dragon Tongue has green pods that have purple flecks. When young, the pods are eaten as snap beans. They can also be harvested when they’re ripe to be shelled. The plants reach a height of 24-30 inches and are ready to harvest in 60 days.
- Kentucky Wonder, a popular heirloom heirloom pole beans. The plants can reach 6-8 feet in height with 6-8 inch long, flat, straight pods of silvery green. Maturity is 70 days.
- Purple Queen Improved has a bush type with purple, 6-inch pods which turn green after cooking. The plants are 20-24 inches tall and cold-tolerant.
- Velour has a striking deep purple smooth round pod that is 5 1/2 inches long. The plants mature in 55 to 60 days.
- Wyatt has bush-type plants with uniform, productive growth and tender, deep emerald pods up to six and a half inch in length. Matures in just 54 days.
Harvesting Green Beans
Pick the pods as soon as possible before they become tough and stringy. This can happen when they’re left on the plant too long.
Pick the bush bean pods when they are still young and tender to get a second, or even a third flush. Pole beans should be harvested at least twice per week to maintain their productivity.
It is important to note the variety of beans you are growing, and when they will be ready for picking.
Harvest the pods with both hands to prevent the vines from breaking.
Green beans can be eaten fresh, or stored in a crisper drawer or container in their whole form and without washing for up to one week. You can also freeze or can them.
