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Want All the Green Beans You Can Eat? Get the Best Harvest With These Growing Tips
Want All the Green Beans You Can Eat? Get the Best Harvest With These Growing Tips
Green beans are one of the easiest and most popular summer vegetable varieties to grow in your garden. What makes the green bean so easy to grow is because once planted, they require little attention other than a drink of water now and again. One reason that green beans are favorite choices among gardeners is that they have high germination rates of 70 percent and the seeds can remain viable for 3 years. Therefore, they are great for storing long-term garden plans. As well, bush beans, in particular, are a great cover crop for warmer climates.
We prefer growing the Blue Lake Bush variety of green beans because of their many uses. They were originally developed as a canning bean, but quickly became a fresh food favorite and are now commonly served along with salads or steamed as a healthful side dish.
One drawback to planting bush beans is they tend to take up precious space because they do not grow tall like pole beans. But, what they lack in height, they make up for in production. In addition, they require less work planting, staking, weeding, and watering. Another incentive to grow more beans in the garden is they have a symbiotic relationship with soil-dwelling bacteria.
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Go Green Beans!
GO GREEN BEANS!
Green, string, snap, pole, or bush, whatever you call these beans, these edible little pods are great to grow in the garden. Green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), as we think of them, typically grow in two forms. These two main growing forms are what we call bush and pole bean growing styles. Bush beans usually grow more compactly and won’t necessitate support. Pole beans are more viney and will need stakes or trellises to grow on for support. The other difference between bush and pole beans are that bush beans are relatively low maintenance and easier to grow, however pole beans are more widely known for producing higher yields and being more resistant to disease.
NOT SO GREEN IN YEARS
Green beans have been around for thousands of years, originating in Central and South America. They were introduced to the Mediterranean area the mid 1400’s and quickly spread to Turkey, Italy, and Greece by the 1600’s. Today over 100 varieties are grown in various parts the world.
GROW GREEN
If you want to try and grow green beans in your part of the world then begin sowing seeds 2 weeks after the last frost date in your area and when soil temperatures are above 50° F. Seeds should be planted 1-1.5”deep, spaced 2” apart for bush beans and 3” apart for pole beans, with trellises in place for support. To continuously harvest beans throughout summer, plant additional seeds every 2-3 weeks.
Once beans are planted, and as they continue to grow, water the beans consistently, but make sure your soil doesn’t become waterlogged. Typically green beans don’t need to be fertilized, as too much nitrogen gives you beautiful plush leaves, but drastically reduces your bean production. As with any garden, be sure to weed around your beans, but do so using shallow cultivation in order to leave the bean roots undisturbed.
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