How to Grow Green Beans From Seeds (In Pots And Garden)

Green beans is one of the members of the legume family, which is widely cultivated as a vegetable. Growing green beans is simple. All you need to do is to find a well-drained garden spot that is averagely rich in nutrients and with soil pH that is slightly acidic. Green beans love full sun. So, plant your seeds in an unshaded area. Sow seeds 1-1.5 inches and space 3-6 inches between plants. Water regularly and mulch during extreme temperatures.

For more details about growing green beans and care, keep reading.

What are Green beans?

Green bean is the young unripe fruit of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). It is also called with other names such as snap beans, French beans, snaps, and string beans. Green bean was believed to be a native of the South and Central Americas.

Green beans thrive well in full sun. The growing zones for green beans are between 2 to 10 USDA hardiness zones. Green beans do not like much nitrogen riched soil. The bean prefers soil that is well-drained and moderately fertile. The pH range for healthy growth is between (6-6.2).

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Are green beans easy to grow?

Green bean is one of the staple crop because it is easy to grow even if you don’t have enough space. Green beans do not require much gardening care and maintenance. Green beans do not require much feeding. You can supplement your green beans garden even with all purpose compost.

What months do you plant green beans?

Green beans are usually planted in spring. Sow your green beans seeds after all the dangers of last spring frost have passed. And if you are planning in fall, plant your green beans seeds about 10-12 weeks before the first frost.

How do you grow green beans step by step?

Green beans can be grown both in garden and in pots. However, growing green beans in pots is not recommended because they don’t do well in containers. And if you are transplanting, they can die unless you first started the seeds in biodegradable pots. In this article, I will show how to grow green beans both in pots and garden.

Read also: How To Grow Artichokes From Seeds And Crowns

How to grow green beans from seeds in garden

Here is a step by step instructions:

1. Choose the best green beans variety: the first most important step to growing good green beans is to wisely select a good variety. Choose green beans that are well adopted to your climatic conditions and the common pests and diseases.

Good variety is one that developed resistant to common pests and diseases. You can get this type of variety from your local growers or gardeners. Common varieties you can consider buying include Mascotte, Provider, Contender, Emerite, and Fortex.

2. Choose the right green beans planting time: The next step is to sow seeds at the right time. Green beans love full sun. The right time for planting green beans is in spring when the dangers of last frost have passed. So, sow seeds when the soil temperatures is between 50 and 60°F.

3. Choose the right garden spot: locate the right spot at your backyard. Choose place that is well-drained with soil pH that is near neutral. Do not choose a garden spot that is shaded with trees or other structures. Starting your garden in poor soil will only waste your energy and time.

Tip: learn more on how to choose a good garden spot

4. Prepare the garden spot: prepare the garden spot by loosening the top 10 inches of the garden soil. Use your rake and fork to loosen the soil. Remove all the large rocks and other debris. Mix in 2-5 inches of compost. Water gently to moisten the soil.

Read also: How To Grow Artichokes From Seeds And Crowns

5. Sow your green beans seeds: after you have finished preparing the garden spot, it is now time to sow seeds. Sow green beans seeds 1-1.5 inches deep. Space planting holes about 3-6 inches apart. And leave about 18-24 hours of space between rows. Water immediately after planting to encourage speedy germination.

Green beans can be bush or pole beans. The Pole beans need support such as trellis or stakes. So, space the pole beans about 4-8 inches. While the rows should be spaced about 2-3 feet for poles beans.

Here is how to grow green beans in the garden, for details on how to grow green beans in pots and also how take care of green beans, read on.

Read also: How To Grow Black Beans From Seeds At Home

How to green beans in pots

Growing green beans in pots is also Easy. All you need to do is to find well-drained pots and fill the with soil mix. You can also use garden soil that is sterilized. Sow your green beans seeds in the pots about 1-1.5 inches deep. Place the pots indoors where there is enough sunlight. Alternatively, you keep them in green house. You need to stake them when they begin to grow.

Related: How To Grow Caraway Plant From Seeds

How to take care of green beans

Green beans love about 6-8 hours of sunlight. However, if the temperatures is too extreme, mulch the garden. Water green beans regularly during the early stages of development. But, avoid flooding your green beans garden. When they started growing, water the green beans about 2 inches per week.

Generally, beans do not like much feeding especially with a high nitrogen fertilizer. However, if you are growing pole beans, feed them with compost from time to time.

Read also: How To Grow Adzuki Beans From Seeds In 8 Easy Steps

How long does it take for green beans to grow

Under normal green beans conditions, healthy green beans can take about 50-55 days from planting to harvest. However, some varieties of green beans can take longer than this time. And some of the green beans varieties can reach harvest before the stated days.

How many green beans will one plant produce?

A healthy green bean plant can produce 120 beans. One green bean can produce 20 pods on average, and each pod produces about 6 beans. So, if you times 6 and 29, you will get 120 beans. However, this may be affected by climatic conditions and varieties.

Read also: How To Grow Broad Beans From Seeds (In Pots And Garden)

Harvesting green beans

Green beans specifically bush beans can be harvested after 50-55 days of planting. The green beans pods can be ready to be picked when they are 6 inches long and slightly firm. Ensure that you harvest the beans before the bean protrude through the skin. Bush beans can grow up to 12-24 inches. The harvest season for Bush beans ends after 6-8 weeks.On the other hand, Pole beans begin to produce seeds after 11-12 weeks. For continue harvest, plant your Bush beans after 2-3 weeks.

Read also: How To Grow Garlic At Home In Pots

Growing green beans problems

Green beans do not have much growing problems. The common problems include rotting. And this occurs when you overwater your garden. Another problem is pests infestation and diseases. Let us look at the common green beans pests and diseases.

Pests and diseases

Common pests and diseases of green beans

Common pests of green beans include slugs, Mexican bean beetles, beetles, thrips, Aphids. Pests prevention and management include planting resistant varieties. Manual picking of pests when they are less in population.

On the other hand, the common diseases that affect green beans include Halo blight, Fusarium root rot, common blight, and brown spot. Prevention and management include planting resistant varieties, planting of companion plants, and crop rotation.

Read also: How To Grow Chickpeas At Home In Pots And Garden 

Conclusion

In this article, I discussed how to grow green beans in pots and garden from seeds. I hope you will find this article helpful. Let me know if you have any questions.

References

1. “The Influence of Temperature on Growth and Yield of Green Beans for Processing” retrieved from here

2.”Growth, Yield and Quality of Green Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris) in Response to Irrigation and Compost Applications” retrieved from here

3. “Green Bean Plant Profile” retrieved from here