How To Grow Pole Beans Step By Step

Pole bean is a variety of beans that usually requires support for healthy growth. They can grow to about 10-15ft tall. They do not need much space to grow because they tend to grow upwards. Beans in general are one of the most popular plants that are grown and should grace our garden site.

Pole beans grow quickly and fast hence, they are quite simple and easy to manage, grow, care for, and also highly productive which is advantageous for planting for both personal home use and commercial purpose. They are warm-weather crops that grow annually and dislike frost. Pole beans are nutritious and healthy.

They come in varieties like the heirloom bloom which are cultivars of Phaseolus vulgaris and runner beans which are cultivars of Phaseolus coccineus. They are often described as climbing beans or runner beans.

Pole beans are known for their lovely and nice taste and contain more starch. One good thing about growing pole beans is that they can produce over a long period of time and this can be achieved by planting every 2 weeks and harvesting them.

Related: Pole Beans Vs Bush Beans – Which One To Plant And Grow?

HOW TO PLANT POLE BEANS

SEEDS: When planting the pole beans the first thing is to get your seeds available and ready for planting. They are best advised to be planted directly into the soil because their roots are fragile and therefore not suitable for transplanting.

Plant them about 1 inch deep and about 2-3 inches apart and cover them with the soil. Leave about 18-24 inches of space between rows. Also, you do not necessarily have to soak your seeds ahead. A lot of people make this mistake and wonder why their plants don’t germinate properly. The seeds may crack and rot in the soil due to over moisture.

Related: Learn How To Grow Pole Beans On A Trellis

TEMPERATURE: Pole beans can best be planted in soil with a temperature that ranges between 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. If the soil temperature is below 60 degrees, there is every tendency for the seeds to rot.

SUPPORT: Pole beans are popularly known for their climbing nature, therefore adequate preparation must be made for support before planting the pole beans. There is various forms of supports that can be used e.g. poles, stakes, etc. They must be set in place before planting and tall enough for the variety of pole beans you choose to plant.

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

This can be done by getting your stakes or poles, then tie about 2 or 3 sticks together at the top and spread their legs in a circle. Then you can plant about 3 or 4 seeds around the circle around the base of each pole, and place the stick firmly into the soil. As the plants begin to grow, the vines will eventually climb up the poles and cause them to wind around the poles as they keep growing.

HOW TO GROW POLE BEANS

For your pole beans to grow adequately and effectively the following points must be put into consideration:

SOIL PH: Pole beans thrive more in soil that is slightly acidic

SUNLIGHT: They need access to sunlight, at the same time avoid drying out of water.

WATERING: You need to water the plants regularly, consistently, and moderately. You can keep watering them moderately until the flowers develop after which you can then slightly increase it; otherwise, the plants will not be productive and grow well.

PESTS: One sure way to prevent pests and diseases from invading your bean farm is to practice crop rotation. This simply means that you can always change or rotate your planting location yearly to combat the buildup of pests on the site.

Read also: How to grow black-eyed peas from dried beans 

FERTILITY: They grow well in soil with normal fertility. As a matter of fact, beans generally are nitrogen fixers, i.e. they fix nitrogen into the soil and may not require much fertilizer. However, in cases where the soil is lacking infertility before planting you can add manure or compost to such to boost the soil fertility. You can also mix organic fertilizer before planting into the soil to boost its fertility although beans in general rarely need fertilizers.

WEEDING: When weeding is careful not to uproot the shallow roots of the bean plant. Aside from the roots being fragile, they do not have deep roots, so proper caution must be taken when weeding them.

HARVESTING: Although pole beans require a little more time to produce because they allow their vines to grow before they start producing. However, they can keep on producing if you keep on harvesting them. You can begin to harvest them once the pods are full and big in size. While harvesting is careful not to damage the plant which can prevent new pods from growing.

Tip: Learn how to harvest beans without drying

MULCHING: This helps to keep the soil cool and moist and avoid disease. You can mulch the soil once the temperature is higher than 60 degrees Fahrenheit. You can also use leaves or fallen plants as your mulching material.

By following these steps you can be sure to grow your pole bean successfully for your home personal use. Also, the same steps and processes can also be used in the case of large-scale production.

Read also: Learn about the types of bush beans

Conclusion

I hope you find this article helpful. I would like to hear from you. Let me know if you have any questions about growing pole beans.