Master green beans with our complete planting and care guide
Finally, the Perfect Garden Seeds—From the trusted Old Farmer’s Almanac!
Non-GMO, open-pollinated, high germination, sourced from American farms.
Planting
Beans grow best in well-draining soil with normal fertility and an acidic to neutral pH (6.0–7.0). They don’t typically need supplemental fertilizer because they fix their own nitrogen in the soil. However, particularly poor soil should still be amended with aged manure or compost in the fall prior to planting (or about a week before planting in the spring).
Beans don’t like having their roots disturbed, so set up any supports for pole beans prior to planting.
When to Plant Beans
- Beans grow best when direct-seeded outdoors. Sow any time after the last spring frost date, when the soil has warmed to at least 55°F (12°C). Don’t plant too early, as cold, moist soil will delay germination and could cause the seeds to rot.
- Tip: To get a head start on planting, place black plastic or landscaping fabric over your garden beds to warm the soil prior to sowing seeds.
- Do not start green bean seeds indoors. Due to their fragile roots, they may not survive transplanting. Plus, they’re such fast growers that there’s no real advantage to starting them early indoors.
How to Plant Beans
- Sow bush beans 1 inch deep and 2 inches apart in rows 18 inches apart.
- Sow pole beans 1 inch deep, placing them around supports.
- Tip: Plant pole and bush beans a little deeper in sandy soils, but not too deep. Seedlings cannot push through soil that is too deep, heavy, dense, packed, and/or mulched; they will break their “necks” in trying to emerge.
- For pole beans, set up trellises, stakes, or other supports prior to planting so that the plants’ fragile roots are not disturbed.
- One option is to create a teepee: Tie three or four (or more) 7-foot-long bamboo poles or long, straight branches together at the top and splay the legs in a circle. Then, plant three or four seeds around each pole. 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.
- 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 continued harvest that lasts all summer, sow seeds every 2 weeks. If you’re going to be away and unable to harvest, skip a planting. Beans do not wait for anyone!
- Practice crop rotation (planting crops in different areas each year) to avoid the buildup of pests and diseases in one spot.
How to Grow Beans From Planting to Harvest
Growing
- Mulch soil around bean plants to retain moisture; make sure that it is well-draining. Beans have shallow roots, so mulch keeps them cool.
- Water regularly, about 2 inches per square foot per week. If you do not keep beans well watered, they will stop flowering. Water on sunny days so that foliage will not remain soaked, which could encourage disease.
- If necessary, begin fertilizing after heavy bloom and the set of pods. Avoid using high-nitrogen fertilizer, or you will get lush foliage and few beans. A side dressing of compost or aged manure halfway through the growing season is a good alternative to liquid fertilizer.
- Weed diligently but carefully to avoid disturbing the beans’ roots.
- Pinch off the tops of pole bean vines when they reach the top of the support. This will force them to put energy into producing more pods instead.
- In high heat, use row covers over young plants; hot weather can cause blossoms to drop from plants, reducing the harvest.
Growing Green Beans in Containers
You can also grow green beans in containers! An 8-inch-deep, 8-inch-wide container will hold one bush plant, while a 5-gallon pot will hold up to three bush or pole plants. For pole beans, plan to provide support in or immediately outside of the container. Fill the container with potting mix and rich compost.
Beans grow best when direct-seeded (not transplanted) into the soil, whether it’s in a container or the ground. After all danger of frost has passed, sow into warm (55°F or higher), moist soil. Put two beans into each hole between 1 and 1-1/2 inches deep. Eliminate the weaker one after germination by cutting the stem. (Do not allow two plants to coexist in one hole; neither will thrive.)
To care for your container of green beans, provide 6 to 8 hours of sun per day. Whenever the soil is dry, water to a depth of 1 to 2 inches. Fertilize with a low-nitrogen formula (5-10-10) diluted to half-strength to avoid excess foliage growth. Apply at planting time and when plants begin to flower.
Catherine Boeckmann
ADVERTISEMENT
I have the prettiest vines, but no blooms. I planted them the last week of April. Am I not being patient enough?
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.
I harvested all the greens on my plants. Should I tear the plants up or will they produce more?
Thanks
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 would be fun but no, that will not happen. Each variety will retain its distinct color.
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.
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!
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
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! :)
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.
