Planting Beans in the Vegetable Garden

June 16, 2017

Whether you are new to gardening and just planted your first vegetable crop this season, or have years of gardening experience behind you, growing beans should always be at the top of the list. Beans are dependable, easy to maintain, and are one of the most productive plants any home gardener can grow.

This year at my farm, we planted many bean varieties. Beans are one of two types: bush beans or pole beans. Bush beans grow on shrubby plants, while pole beans mature on vines that require some kind of support during development. Beans are also found in different colors and lengths, with flat or round pods. No matter what kind of beans you’re growing, they are an excellent source of protein, vitamins and antioxidants.

Here are some photos of the beans we planted in my garden… enjoy.

: We always plant a lot of beans, so I can share them with my family and friends. Many of our seeds come from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, but I also got some from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Botanical Interests, Seed Savers Exchange, and the French producers, Vilmorin and Ferme de Saint Marthe.

: This variety, ‘Cosmos’ includes fancy, dark green beans that are superior in taste. The beans are medium, upright bush beans that keep pods off the ground.

: ‘Jade’ beans have long attractive pods. Jade beans reach about six to seven inches long, and have slender, deep green pods that are exceptionally tender and delicious. The large, upright plants keep beans clean and straight.

: ‘Provider’ can be planted earlier than other beans because it germinates well in cool soils. Their compact plants are easy to grow and adaptable to diverse soil and climate conditions. ‘Provider’ beans are fleshy, round pod green beans that have been organically grown.

: ‘Amarillo’ beans are thin, fancy, straight yellow pods on medium-sized, upright plants. They have good flavor and are highly resistant to the bean mosaic virus, and halo blight.

: This variety, ‘Pauldor’ is new. They are ready earlier, and with a slightly higher yield potential. These beans have straight, yellow pods on medium-sized, upright plants.

: ‘Tavera’ has short fancy pods. These are extra-fine grade beans that are short, with medium dark green, round pods. These were also organically grown.

: Here is a bright yellow variety I picked up during my last trip to France. It’s called ‘Goussdor’ by Vilmorin.

: ‘Amethyst’ are bush beans with slightly thinner, straighter, and more attractive pods. The pods average about five-inches long and are on medium-sized, upright plants. They are very flavorful raw or cooked.

: ‘Fordhook’ are lima beans. These mature early bearing delicious beans – it is a great large-seeded variety.

: These ‘Tohya’ soybeans grow early with delicious, buttery flavor and tender-firm texture. They are plump, pale green pods with about three seeds per pod.

: ‘Envy’ is an earliest-to-market fresh soybean variety. ‘Envy’ is well established as the short-season favorite soybean. The upright, two-feet tall plants bear an early crop of bright-green beans for edamame, fresh shelling, or drying.

: ‘Butterbean’ from Botanical Interests is a long-time favorite for the home garden. The beans are sweet and buttery with stocky plants that are well-branched and stand well, producing a prolific set of large pods with tan pubescence. A good percentage of pods contain three large beans that are relatively easy to shell.

: ‘BeSweet 2001’ have 24-inch tall, well-branched plants that contain multitudes of pods with up to three beans in each. They grow well in a sunny location with warm soil and good drainage.

: ‘Vermont Cranberry’ dry beans are very large beans for soups and baking. The bright red-mottled pods are borne on large, upright plants. The shelled beans are oval, medium-sized, plump, red and pink streaked. This old-time Northern New England variety can also be grown for shell beans.

: ‘Cannellini’ provide heavy yields of attractive, white kidney beans. The large, upright, bush plants keep beans off the ground. They are excellent for eating both as a shell or dry bean.

: ‘Midnight Black Turtle Soup’ beans are great for spicy soups, stews, and refrying. Midnight is an improved, upright-growing, black bean strain. The tall bush keeps the pods off the ground.

: The ‘Mayflower’ pole bean is ready in 95-days. This is the bean that is said to have come to America with the Pilgrims in 1620. This old cutshort green bean has great flavor. It is a long-time staple in the Carolinas.

: ‘Painted Pony’ organic bush beans are stringless pods when young. The dry beans retain brown and white markings when cooked.

: ‘Borlotto Lingua di Fuoco’ is one of the oldest heritage varieties of the Borlotto bean. Lingua di Fuoco literally translates as ‘Tongue of Fire’. They are loved for their excellent flavor, color and versatility.

: ‘Merveille de Venise’ are beautiful golden-yellow pods that are long, flat and wide. They are very productive and recommended for small gardens.

: ‘Superaguadulce’ broad beans ‘are very hardy. They can be sown anytime from autumn until spring. It’s highly prolific and easy to grow, and yet remains one of the most delicious beans.

: ‘Mistica’ pole beans are fleshy and straight. They have a steady shape and size, with a medium green color.

: All these bean varieties benefit from soaking before planting. Ryan puts the seeds in small containers of warm water and leaves them to soak overnight. This expedites the germination process.

: The next day, using a strainer, Ryan thoroughly drains the beans.

: Ryan makes markers, and places them into the container after the beans are drained.

: Only soak seeds for about eight to 12-hours and no more than 24-hours. Over-soaking them could cause them to decompose. When removing the beans, Ryan discards any that are broken – these are not viable and shouldn’t be planted.

: Beans are dependable and easy to cultivate, producing some of the most popular vegetables in the garden. Growing beans during warm, summer months produce rewarding crops – crisp, green pods, protein-rich beans or both, depending on the variety.

: Ryan uses this bed preparation rake from Johnny’s Selected Seeds to create furrows in the soil. Hard plastic tubes slide onto selected teeth of the rake to mark the rows. Bean seeds germinate best when planted in soil that’s between 60 and 70-degrees Fahrenheit.

: It’s a cleverly designed tool for making multiple straight rows in one pass. The depth of the furrows depends on the amount of pressure placed on the rake as it moves through the soil.