How to Grow Green Beans

Nothing says summertime like fresh green beans from the garden on your dinner table! With some preparation and season-long care, you can grow green beans just about anywhere. Follow these simple steps and learn how to plant, grow and care for green beans that will feed you and yours all summer and throughout the next year.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel or tiller
• Garden hoe
• Garden rake
• All purpose organic fertilizer
• Compost
• Peat
• Locust posts or metal poles
• Jute twine
• Wire
• Wire cutters
• Scissors or knife
• Bean seeds
• Water

Instructions

Plan and prepare the garden space

1. Decide what type of bean you will be growing as there are two different types of beans to choose from. Bush beans grow in a clump and pole beans are climbers and need to be trellised. Within those two types there are several different varieties. Research and choose one that will grow well in your climate, and then follow the instructions below specific to the type of bean you're growing.

2. Prepare the soil the beans will be planted in. Dig a trench in your garden about two feet wide, four inches deep, and long enough to accommodate the amount of beans you will plant. Three to four ounces of seed will plant a 100 foot row.

3. Fill the bottom three inches of the trench with compost and add one pound of all purpose organic fertilizer per 100 square feet of growing space, which is one pound for every fifty feet of trench.

4. Fill trench with two inches of peat. This should only have to be done if your soil has poor drainage. Beans prefer well drained soil, so if your soil tends to be soggy, add peat.

5. Mix the compost, fertilizer, peat, and preexisting dirt with a shovel or tiller. For best results, use a tiller. If a tiller is not available, a shovel will do the job. Make sure the dirt is well mixed to a depth of five or six inches and remove any roots, rocks, or sticks.

6. Rake the mixed soil into a mounded row, two feet wide and about four inches high.

How to plant bush beans

1. Dig a small trench about one inch deep and two inches wide in the center of the row you prepared for the beans. This can be done with your hands or a hoe.

2. Place bean seeds in the trench, spaced two to three inches apart.

3. Cover the seeds with one inch of dirt and tamp down the dirt covering them with your hands or the back of a hoe.

4. Water the seeds thoroughly. Be sure to penetrate at least the top three layers of soil with water.

How to plant pole beans

1. Create a trellis for the beans to climb. If you plan on growing pole beans for years to come, I would recommend creating a semi-permanent trellis for them.

2. Bury one locust post or metal pole at each end of the row(s) the beans will be grown in. If your rows are longer than ten feet, place a post every ten feet along the row.

3. Secure a metal wire at least one eight of an inch in diameter to the tops of all the posts, running along the entire length of the row. This can be done by wrapping the wire around the posts and then wrapping the wire around itself. Make sure the wire is secure as it will have to bear all the weight of the beans.

4. Run jute twine the length of the row on the bottom of the posts, about four inches from the ground. Make the jute twine as tight as possible by tying both ends securely around a post.

5. 

   Run jute twine in a vertical zigzag pattern between the wire on the top of the posts and the jute twine at the bottom of the posts. Do this for the entire length of the row.

6. Plant the beans in the manner described in the section "How to Plant Bush Beans," using the same soil amendments, tilling or mixing procedure, and planting methods. Stop planting beans at least two inches from the posts on either side - beans planted too close to the poles or posts will not have sufficient room to grow.

Caring for the Beans

1. Water the beans regularly. Beans have shallow root systems and can become deprived of water easily in dry weather.

2. Do not add more fertilizer to the beans. Beans fix nitrogen to their roots from the air and if the soil was prepared properly, they should not need any more fertilizer.

3. Harvest beans before the bean inside the pod fully develops. This should be done for several reasons: the pod of the bean will become tough and inedible if picked too late, and the beans will stop producing if they are allowed to produce mature seed.

Tips & Warnings

• Harvest your beans early in the morning before the dew has evaporated.

• Do not pull up your beans when they stop producing. Cut them back and leave the roots in the ground over winter. Beans form deposits of nitrogen on their roots and will disperse it back into the soil if left alone.

• If you are growing pole beans, cut all the jute twine and bean plants free from the posts when they have died back, and compost them. Just make sure not to include the wire in the compost pile!

• Use two hands to pick the beans to avoid uprooting or damaging the plant. One hand should hold the stem of the bean plant, while the other removes the bean.

• When using any tool, use caution to avoid injury.

• Do not over-water; beans do not like soggy soil.

• Do not plant until all danger of frost has passed and the soil has reached a temperature of at least 60 degrees.