How to Plant Green Beans

Green beans are a popular vegetable to grow in the garden as well as serve at Thanksgiving. They are not difficult to grow once you know a few tricks.

1. Pole varieties are harder to grow than bush varieties.
2. Plant green beans in full sun.
3. Beans can be planted as late as July.
4. Controlling pests will help control viruses.
5. Harvest beans when they "snap."

• Green beans did not get their name because of their color. They can be yellow, purple, red or streaked as well as green. The term "green" was applied to them because they are picked and eaten before they have ripened completely.Mother Earth News: Growing Real Green Beans (September/October 2006) Green beans are also string beans because of a fiber that ran along the seams of the pod. However, these fibers have been reduced in some varieties, which are now referred to as stringless beans or snap beans.University of Illinois Extension: Watch Your Garden Grow: Beans

• Green beans are categorized as either bush or pole, depending on how they grow. A third type, half-runners, is a combination between the two but are usually grown like bush beans.UC Davis, Vegetable Research and Information Center: Beans

• Bush are short and erect plants that will grow between 1 to 2 feet high. They are easier to handle than pole beans and capable of being harvested four or five times.Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences: Growing Beans Should Be a Snap For Most Gardeners Varieties of bush beans include round podded, flat podded, yellow wax, stringless and purple pod. Purple pod beans will turn green when cooked.UC Davis, Vegetable Research and Information Center: Beans

• Some popular varieties of bush beans include:

1. Green
   1. Stringless: Blue Lake, Bountiful, Contender, Maxibel, Topcrop.
   2. Round podded: Blue Lake, Bush Blue Lake 274, Contender, Fortex, Jade, Kentucky Blue, Maxibel, Provider, Topcrop, Venture.
   3. Flat podded: Bush Kentucky Wonder, Gina, Roma II.
   4. French Filet: Nickel, Grenoble, Straight 'N Narrow.
2. Yellow Wax
   1. Stringless: Golden Wax, Dragon's Tongue, Yellow Wax.
   2. Round Podded: Goldcrop, Golden Wax, Pencil Pod, Roc D'or (Rocdor).
   3. Flat Podded: Dragon's Tongue, Romano Gold.
3. Purple
   1. Stringless: Royal Burgundy.
   2. Round Podded: Royal Burgundy, Royalty.
4. Half-Runners: Mountaineer, State, Striped.

• Pole beans grow on 7 to 8 feet long vines and will bear fruit continuously. Most flat-podded green beans are pole beans.Mother Earth News: Growing Real Green Beans (September/October 2006)

• Some popular varieties of bush beans include:

1. Stringless: Blue Lake, Cascade Giant.
2. Round Podded: Kentucky Blue, Kentucky Wonder.
3. Flat Podded: Kwintus, Romano.
4. Italian: Romano.
5. Yellow Podded: Frima.
6. Purple Podded: Jeminez, Purple Pod.

• To find out more information on varieties of beans as well as additional bean varieties, check out any of the following sources:

1. Cornell University: Vegetable Varieties for Gardners: Beans
2. NC State University: Vegetable Cultivar Descriptions for North America: Bean - Green (A-L)
3. NC State University: Vegetable Cultivar Descriptions for North America: Bean - Green (M-Z)

• Green beans are a warm-season crop that will grow under a variety of circumstances.University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension: Growing Beans However, some soils and locations are better than others. Picking the right spot will help improve your yield and minimize problems with disease.Backwoods Home Magazine: Green or yellow: Grow Your Best Bush Beans Ever

1. It is best to plant beans in an area that receives full sun, although they are tolerant of light shade.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans
2. Do not plant beans in an area where other legumes have grown.
   1. For best results, do not plant beans in the same area for three to four years.University of Wisconsin-Extension: Growing Beans and Peas in Wisconsin
   2. Instead, they should follow wheat, corn or other grain crops.Iowa State University: Iowa Green Bean Production
3. Beans should be planted in a well-draining soil, such as sandy loam.Iowa State University: Iowa Green Bean Production
   1. Avoid heavy soils because they can cause root rot problems and cause beans to drop their blossoms.Iowa State University: Iowa Green Bean Production
   2. You can plant beans in clay or organic soils if you prepare the soil properly by mixing in some coarse sand to help improve drainage.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans
4. Beans prefer soils to be more acidic with a pH between 6.0 to 6.8.University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension: Growing Beans Although some reports the pH level should be between 5.8 to 6.3.Ohio State University: Growing Peas And Snap Beans In The Home Garden
5. Beans do not need heavy fertilizing, however adding nitrogen before planting is beneficial.Backwoods Home Magazine: Green or yellow: Grow Your Best Bush Beans Ever
   1. Consider adding compost or other organic matter before planting to ensure the soil is properly fertilized.The Gardener's Network: How to Grow Bean Family of Vegetables
   2. If using lime, till it 6 to 8 inches into the soil before planting.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans
   3. If using a fertilizer such as 10-20-10, use between 2 to 3 pounds per 10 foot square area and mix it into the top 3 to 4 inches of soil.Texas A&M University: Easy Gardening...Green Beans

• Expect to plant your first crop of green beans around mid- or late May.University of Wisconsin-Extension: Growing Beans and Peas in Wisconsin It is almost impossible to transplant beans, so you will need to seed them directly into the soil.Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences: Growing Beans Should Be a Snap For Most Gardeners Beans are sensitive to cold temperatures and frost.University of Illinois Extension: If you plant your beans too soon, you beans could [http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/lafreniere62.html fail to thrive or perform poorly. Backwoods Home Magazine: Green or yellow: Grow Your Best Bush Beans Ever Do not plant until:
  1. Soil temperatures reach at least 65°F during the day.Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences: Growing Beans Should Be a Snap For Most Gardeners Beans do not germinate well when the soil temperature is below 60°F.University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension: Growing Beans
  2. Nighttime temperatures do not fall below 60°F.
  3. All danger of frost has passed. If the soil is warm enough, you can plant about seven to ten days before this date.University of Illinois Extension: Watch Your Garden Grow: Beans
     • To find out the average last spring frost in your area, check out this Spring Frost Zone Map from Better Homes and Gardens or NOAA's Freeze and Frost Data.Better Homes and Gardens: Spring Frost Zone Map NOAA: Freeze and Frost Data

• Short spells of cool weather won't hurt the bean plants, but will slow their growth.Backwoods Home Magazine: Green or yellow: Grow Your Best Bush Beans Ever You can plant dark-colored bean seeds earlier than lighter colored bean seeds.Oregon State University: It is Time to Get Those Green Beans in the Ground Cooler soil temperatures can delay germination or cause the seeds to crack.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans Cooler soil temperature can also cause the beans to emerge unevenly, resulting in an uneven harvest.Iowa State University: Iowa Green Bean Production

• You can plant green beans later in the summer, if you know the average first frost date for your area. Simply plant at least 45 days before the average first frost date.About.com Beans - Tips for Growing a Fall Crop of Beans This can mean planting beans as late as July in areas like Illinois.Illinois Times Online: Cool beans! - It's not Too Late to Plant Green Beans To find out when the average first frost date is in your area, check out one of these sources:
  1. NOAA: Freeze and Frost Data
  2. Better Homes and Gardens: Autumn Frost Map
  3. Victory Seed Company: Frost Date Selector Page

• Plant green beans seeds 1 to 1-1/2 inches deep, depending on the soil type. Plant deeper in sandy soils and shallower in heavy soils.Ohio State University: Growing Peas And Snap Beans In The Home Garden Spacing of the seeds depends on if they are bush or pole types. Bush seeds are self supporting and will grow 1 to 2 feet high. Pole beans grow on vines that require support. Do not presoak seeds because it can cause them to rot. Instead, water after planting or wait to plant until right before it rains.University of Illinois Extension: Watch Your Garden Grow: Beans You will also want to purchase new seeds each year in areas with high humidity.Yardner: Planting Snap Beans

1. Plant seeds 2 to 4 inches apart in each row. You can opt to plant them closer, 1 to 2 inches part and then thin the seedlings so they are 2 inches apart.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans

2. Space rows at least 15 inches apart.University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension: Growing Beans However, wider rows of 24 to 36 inches will be easier to cultivate.Backwoods Home Magazine: Green or yellow: Grow Your Best Bush Beans Ever

3. If using double rows, plant each double row 9 to 12 inches apart with each pair of rows 18 to 24 inches apart.University of Wisconsin-Extension: Growing Beans and Peas in Wisconsin

4. Denser plantings will help shade the soil, which allows the soil to retain moisture and discourages weeds.Yardner: Planting Snap Beans

• There are two basic ways to plant pole beans, the trellis system and the hill system.

• Trellis System
  1. A trellis can be set up by weaving wire between two sturdy posts.University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension: Growing Beans
  2. Beans should be planted 4 to 10 inches apart.
  3. Rows should be at least 24 inches apart.Yardner: Planting Snap Beans

• Hill System
  1. Beans are planted six to eight beans to a hill.
  2. The beans are then thinned to the strongest three or four bean plants.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans
  3. Each hill has a stake (or pole) or a tepee made of several stakes to support the vines.Yardner: Planting Snap Beans
  4. Space hills about 30 to 36 inches apart.University of Illinois Extension: Watch Your Garden Grow: Beans
  5. Poles should be about 1" x 1" wood or pipe and between 6 to 8 feet high.University of Wisconsin-Extension: Growing Beans and Peas in Wisconsin

• Green beans do not need excessive amounts of care. However, you making sure they have adequate water and fertilizer while not being overrun with weeds is important.

• Moisture stress will cause leaves to wilt mid-day or give them a bluish tint. Beans planted later in the season are at higher risk of moisture stress.University of Wisconsin-Extension: Growing Beans and Peas in Wisconsin

1. Make sure plants get about 1 to 1-1/2 inches of water each week.Iowa State University: Iowa Green Bean Production
2. Try to keep the soil evenly moist.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans
3. Do not let the soil get dry when beans are blooming.Texas A&M University: Easy Gardening...Green Beans

• Although not required, beans will do well if you apply a general purpose fertilizer.The Gardener's Network: How to Grow Bean Family of Vegetables After the beans begin to flower and set beans, apply about a half-cup of fertilizer for every 10 feet of row.Texas A&M University: Easy Gardening...Green Beans

• Because beans have shallow roots and weak root systems, it is important to control weeds and grasses around them.University of Illinois Extension: Watch Your Garden Grow: Beans

1. Do not hoe or cultivate too deeply or you will injure the root systems.Texas A&M University: Easy Gardening...Green Beans
2. If quackgrass gets to be a problem, try applying the herbicide glyphosate.University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension: Growing Beans
3. Applying a 2 to 4 inch layer of mulch can be a great tool at preventing weeds.
   1. Apply a mulch of hay, straw, pine needles, chopped leaves, grass clippings or similar substance once the beans are about 2 to 3 inches high.University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension: Growing Beans
   2. Black plastic is great at both stopping weeds and warming up the soil, which will hasten been growth.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans

• Green beans can be troubled by a variety of pests. Some of the more common include aphids, beetles, cutworms, leafhoppers and spider mites.

1. Adults: Small green, yellow or black insects.

2. Symptoms: Leaves curl and presence of honeydew which turns black with mold.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans

3. Control: Use natural predators such as parasitic wasps, lady beetles, syrphid flies and green lacewings or insecticidal soap.UC IPM Online: Aphids Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences: Growing Beans Should Be a Snap For Most Gardeners Acephate, diatect, diazinon, malathion, naturgro, ultraftne petroleum oil, pyrellin, pyrenone or rotenone may also be used.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans

1. Adults: 1/4 inch long, reddish brown color with black spots on its back.

2. Larvae: Spiny yellow-white grub.

3. Symptoms: Round holes on leaves.Vegetable Insect Pest Management: Bean Leaf Beetle Larvae will bore into roots.Virgina Tech Insect Identification Laboratory: Bean Leaf Beetle

4. Control: Use rotenone, acephate, malathion, carbaryl, diatect, diazinon, pyrenone, pyrellin or methoxychlor.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans

1. Adults: Grayish brown moths with wings marked with darker tips that are about 1/2 to 1 long.

2. Larvae: Olive brown about 2 to 3 inches long with three to four dark stripes and a yellow head.

3. Symptoms: Slow emergence, pod rot, holes on leaves or beans.UC IPM Online: Corn Earworm University of Wisconsin-Extension: Growing Beans and Peas in Wisconsin Usually attacks in the fall.Virgina Tech Insect Identification Laboratory: Corn Earworm

4. Control: Plant under ideal soil conditions. Chemicals may also be used.UC IPM Online: Corn Earworm Vegetable Insect Pest Management: Corn Earworm

1. Adults: 1 inch long moths that vary in color.

2. Larvae: 1 to 2 inch long dull gray, brown or black in color and may be striped or spotted.

3. Symptoms: Young plants are cut off at the base of the plant.

4. Control: Eliminate weeds two weeks before planting in and around garden.UC IPM Online: Cutworms Delay planting until the second week in June if cutworms are numerous.University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension: Growing Beans Bacillus thuringiensis (better known as Bactur, Dipel, SOK-BT, Thuricide) will kill cutworms.Virgina Tech Insect Identification Laboratory: Cutworms

1. Adults: 1/8 inch long, wedge-shaped green insects.

2. Nymphs: Similar to adults but without wings.UC IPM Online: Empoasca Leafhoppers

3. Symptoms: Brown lesions on leaves.University of Wisconsin-Extension: Growing Beans and Peas in Wisconsin Leaves will curl or crinkle and become yellow or bronze.Virgina Tech Insect Identification Laboratory: Leafhopper Also capable of transmitting viruses.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans

4. Control: Apply acephate, ultrafine petroleum oil, pyrellin, diatect, diazinon, malathion, insecticidal soap, natur-gro, pyrenone or rotenone.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans

1. Adults: 1/3 to 1/4 inch long, oval shape, copper color with 16 black spots.

2. Larvae: Yellow to orange color, 1/3 inch long and spiny.

3. Eggs: 1/20 inch orange-yellow eggs in groups of 40 or more on the underside of leaves.

4. Symptoms: Leaves and pods are skeletonized.Virgina Tech Insect Identification Laboratory: Mexican Bean Beetle

5. Control: Use a NEEM-based insecticide.Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences: Growing Beans Should Be a Snap For Most Gardeners Carbaryl (Sevin) and Pyrellin EC can also be used.Vegetable Insect Pest Management: Mexican Bean Beetle Handpick and destroy eggs and larvae.University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension: Growing Beans

1. Adults: Very small (about the same size as the period at the end of this sentence) light-colored or reddish.Virgina Cooperative Extension: Spider Mites

2. Symptoms: Small white spots on leaves; leaves will eventually turn brown.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans

3. Control: Use natural predators such as sixspotted thrips, minute pirate and bigeyed bugs.UC IPM Online: Spider Mites Diatect, diazinon, dicofol, malathion, insecticidal soap, ultrafine petroleum oil, propargite or pyrellin can also be applied when mites are noticed.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans

• Beans can be plagued by bacterial diseases, such as bacterial brown spot and halo blight and other diseases such as Sclerotinia white mold.University of Wisconsin-Extension: Growing Beans and Peas in Wisconsin Disease is best controlled through the use of preventative measures such as:

1. Planting disease-resistant varieties and disease-free seeds.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans
2. Do not work in the garden, handle plants or harvest beans when the plants are wet.University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension: Growing Beans This can cause rust to develop and spread disease.Backwoods Home Magazine: Green or yellow: Grow Your Best Bush Beans Ever
3. Remove and destroy all diseased plants in or near the garden.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans
4. Do not plant beans in the same place each year.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans
5. Keep your garden free of debris and weeds.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans
6. Maintain good air circulation around plants.Iowa State University: Iowa Green Bean Production
7. Avoid injuring the plants.Iowa State University: Iowa Green Bean Production
8. Do not over fertilize or water.Iowa State University: Iowa Green Bean Production
9. Apply fungicides when beans are flowering, if needed.Iowa State University: Iowa Green Bean Production
10. Control insects such as aphids and leafhoppers which spread disease.University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Growing Snap Beans

A few other pests have been known to attack green beans, but are lesson common. Here are a few along with links to where you can find more information.

1. Bean Anthracnose: Bean anthracnose is caused by the fungus Colletotrichum lindemuthianum.Cornell University Vegetable MD Online: Bean Anthracnose Infected plants will have black-red sunken cankers or spots on infected pods.UC IPM Online: Bean Anthracnose
2. Bacterial Brown Spot: Bacterial brown spot causes small round or oval, brownish red spots that may have a yellow halo to develop on leaves.Oregon State University Extension: Bacterial Brown Spot
   1. Spots may grow together and the centers of the spots can fall out.UC IPM Online: Bacterial Brown Spot
   2. Bacteria is spread through seed and when rain washes airborne bacteria out of the sky and onto leaves.Cornell University Vegetable MD Online: Why Bacterial Brown Spot was Severe in Snap Beans in 2001 Plus Guidelines for 2002
   3. It is caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae.Cornell University Vegetable MD Online: Bacterial Diseases of Beans
3. Common Bacterial Blight: Symptoms appear as irregular-shaped light brown lesions with bright yellow margins.Cornell University Vegetable MD Online: Bacterial Diseases of Beans
   1. Pod symptoms (small, watersoaked spots that develop into large, dark red irregular spots) are virtually indistinguishable from those of halo blight.UC IPM Online: Common Bacterial Blight
   2. Disease will develop more often when conditions are warm and humid.Cornell University Vegetable MD Online: Bacterial Blights of Beans
4. Fusarium Root Rot Also known as Fusarium Dry Rot, Fusarium root rot only affects underground stems and roots of bean plants.Cornell University Vegetable MD Online: Fusarium Dry Rot of Beans
   1. It is more common when there are extremes in soil moisture.Oregon State University Extension: Fusarium Root Rot
   2. It can cause early maturity and reduce bean yield.UC IPM Online: Fusarium Root Rot
5. Halo Blight: First symptoms are water-soaked spots and then irregular brown spots on the undersides of the leaves.Oregon State University Extension: Halo Blight Spots eventually develop small, reddish-brown lesions on the leaves with greenish-yellow halos.Cornell University Vegetable MD Online: Bacterial Diseases of Beans
   1. Disease is more common when conditions are cool and moist.Cornell University Vegetable MD Online: Bacterial Blights of Beans
   2. Bacteria is spread by rains, hail, overhead irrigation water, windblown soil, rabbits, deer, cultivators and sprayers.Cornell University Vegetable MD Online: Bacterial Blights of Beans
   3. Pod symptoms (small, watersoaked spots that develop into large, dark red irregular spots) are virtually indistinguishable from those of common bacterial blight.UC IPM Online: Halo Blight

1. White Mold Sclerotinia White mold causes water-soaked lesions on the stems and pods. If it infects the stem, it can cause a rapid wilting and death of the entire plant.Oregon State University Extension: White Mold (Sclerotinia Rot)
   1. Symptoms are usually start about one week after full bloom.Cornell University Vegetable MD Online: White Mold of Beans
   2. Mold can survive in the soil for several years.UC IPM Online: White Mold

• Viruses infect beans either through infected seed or is transmitted by pests.Cornell University Vegetable MD Online: Virus Diseases of Snap and Dry Beans Some of the most prevalent viruses include:
  1. Alfalfa Mosaic (Yellow Dot)UC IPM Online: Alfalfa Mosaic (Yellow Dot)
  2. Bean Common MosaicUC IPM Online: Bean Common Mosaic
  3. Bean Yellow MosaicUC IPM Online: Bean Yellow Mosaic
  4. Cucumber MosaicUC IPM Online: Cucumber Mosaic

• Green beans should be harvested about 14 to 18 days after full bloom.University of Wisconsin-Extension: Growing Beans and Peas in Wisconsin

• Now that you have an abundant crop of green beans, you might want to check out Mahalo's page on How to Make Green Bean Casserole. You can also find a number of recipes for green beans on Mahalo's Green Beans page.