How to Grow Beans

You can grow beans with little effort as they are super easy, bush beans and pole beans alike. They grow with little care from you, though certain varieties will need support to climb. Beans grow well from direct seeding in your garden as well and do not need to be started indoors. However, beans grow fast and will thrill the children when started indoors.

And because they transplant well, there’s no worries about wasted efforts. In fact, beans are a perfect “first plant” for any child to grow.

Perfect Potting Mix for Seeds

1/3 peat moss

1/3 potting mix

1/3 worm poop or composted cow manure

Beans won’t need a lot of fertilizer when growing, especially nitrogen, but giving them a healthy dose of manure when starting from seed is always welcome. Bean seeds are fairly large, so plant about 1/2-1 inch deep, depending on the variety. For example, lima beans can be planted about an inch while sweet peas might do well planted 1/2 inch deep.

Germination happens fast and is a visible thrill for kids. You can actually see the bean rise from the soil, split from the cotyledon followed by first true leaves. Very cool–even for me!

Once in full growth mode, this plant is a light feeder and requires moderate water. Pictured above is a kidney bean. Once they start growing, watch out. They are fast and abundant producers!

Above is a black bean, but red, green, brown–they all grow pretty quickly making them a favorite in the garden. Besides, they taste delicious and are a great source of protein. Harvesting is simple. Pluck the pods from the vine. When ready to consume, peel away the pod to reveal the little beauties you’ve been longing for.

Bush beans like black beans and kidney beans must be cooked before you eat them, otherwise you’ll get a bellyache. Green beans such as pole beans can be eaten right from the vine, pod and all. Same goes for sugar snap peas which are very similar though super sweet and delicious.

Problems

The good news for beans is there aren’t too many issues that affect them. You can get pests that eat holes through your beans, but I haven’t seen a lot of this in my garden.

 

Good Companions: Bush beans: beets, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, eggplant, leeks, peas, potato, radish, rosemary, strawberry, sunflower. Pole beans: carrots, cauliflower, chard, corn, cucumber, eggplant, marigold, pea, potato, rosemary, strawberry.

Bad Companions: Bush beans: basil, fennel, kohlrabi, onion family. Pole beans: basil, beet, cabbage, fennel, kohlrabi, onions family, radish, sunflower.

Health Benefits: Health benefits of beans have been getting a lot of attention in recent scientific studies. Beans can help lower the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol, and the antioxidants in beans help prevent some types of cancer. They’re also a plant-based source of protein. Available in many different sizes and colors, beans are easy-to-grow and definitely good for your health.