Planting Green Beans is a Breeze!
Because the seeds are sowed directly in the garden, planting green beans is easy. Planting should be done at least 2 weeks after the last expected frost and after the soil temperature is above 60 degrees. Make sure the soil is well-tilled to a depth of at least 6 inches. You should also choose a location that will get full sun throughout the growing season.
Planting Bush Beans
To plant bush beans in a traditional garden, use a hoe and make rows approximately 1 1/2 inches deep and 2 feet apart. Sow the seeds every 2 inches and cover with soil. Water the rows in well. If you are planting bush beans in a container, don't worry about creating rows. Instead, push seeds approximately 1 inch into the soil and space seeds 2 inches apart. Cover the seeds with soil and water them well. If you are planting green beans in a container garden, choose a container at least 8 inches deep. The bigger around the container is, the more beans you can grow.
When the plants are 3 inches tall, thin to one plant every 4 inches. Thinning plants means selectively removing seedlings. If the plants are growing too close together, problems may arise. The root systems will end up growing into each other. When plants have to battle each other for water and nutrients, they end up becoming stressed and rarely grow to full size or produce green beans. To solve this problem, seedlings are thinned to create adequate space between the plants. Thinning also allows you to selectively remove under-performing seedlings. To thin the plants, simply pull the seedlings to be removed out by the roots and toss them in your compost pile.
Planting Pole Beans
To plant pole beans in a traditional garden, create mounds 8-12" tall, 2 feet across and 3 feet apart. Place your support structure in the center of the mound. You can use a stake, pole, cage or trellis for your support structure. If desired, pole beans can be planted in mounds along a fence. Be sure that your support structure is anchored well enough to the ground so that it won't blow over in high winds. Push seeds 1 inch deep and at least 4 inches apart into the soil around the support structure. Plant 3-4 seeds around each support structure. Cover the seeds with soil and water them in well. No thinning is necessary for pole beans.
If you are planting pole beans in a container, there is no need to create a mound. Other than that, follow the same planting instructions. Be sure to choose a container that is at least 12 inches deep and 18 inches across.
Now that you're done planting green beans, it's time to water and watch them grow.
Click here to learn about watering and fertilizing your green bean plants
Click here for information about harvesting green beans
Click here for green bean recipe ideas
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