Growing Beans - climbing, also Pole beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners

Phaseolus vulgaris, Phaseolus coccineus : Fabaceae / the pea or legume family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
        P              

(Best months for growing Beans - climbing in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • P = Sow seed
  • Easy to grow. Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 16°C and 30°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 10 - 20 cm apart
  • Harvest in 9-11 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Sweetcorn, spinach, lettuce, summer savory, dill, carrots, brassicas, beets, radish, strawberry, cucumbers, zucchini, tagates minuta (wild marigold)
  • Avoid growing close to: Alliums (Chives, leek, garlic, onions), Florence fennel
  • A few young Scarlet Runners
  • Purple climbing beans

Grow beans up fences, trellis, sweet corn, trees. Almost anywhere can be 'vertically productive'.

Keep well watered and pick regularly to encourage new flowers. Watch out for snails, as they will eat through the stems near ground level, and will completely eat newly sprouted beans. If you have nice new beans plants one day, and none the next, then it is probably slugs or snails.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Beans - climbing

Use young in salads - blanch and cool. Will freeze well.

Your comments and tips

17 Jul 23, Jim Kwasnik (USA - Zone 8b climate)
Here are a few notes and comments regarding
25 Jun 23, Anonymous (USA - Zone 9b climate)
I put my beans in a wet paper towel then put the paper towel in a baggie. I store them under the kitchen sink for a few days and they sprout. Then I take them out and plant them. This has worked well for me. I don’t plant the ones that do not sprout.
04 Mar 23, Tim (USA - Zone 9a climate)
I would like your suggestions as to the best vegetable to follow pole beans in the rotation plan, please.
06 Mar 23, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 5a Temperate Warm Summer climate)
There are two main things to think about when practicing crop rotation. The first; what condition (nutrition, minerals, tilth) will this crop leave the soil in. In this case your current crop is beans -- they fix their own nitrogen, so their roots will be full of nitrogen nodules (little white bubbles) and provided you just turn the roots into the ground -- the nitrogen will be available for the next crop. So your next crop CAN BE a heavy nitrogen feeder -- there should be lots of nitrogen there. Also beans do a surprisingly good job at breaking up the soil...maybe breaking up is too strong a word -- beans leave the soil very light and well blended with good aeration. Beans are not heavy feeders and therefore you don't need to worry about them depleting the soil of anything in particular, a basic application of manure should restore things. -- The Second concern of crop rotation is ; pests -- what pests did the beans attract ? Generally beans attract slugs and the sort of insects that feed on tender leaves (as young beans have very nice tender leaves) -- so ideally you want to plant something that these insects/slugs don't feed on -- something like tomatoes (their leaves are not suitable -- or tend not to be suitable for slugs). Then review what you would like to plant -- and determine the plant that best suits the conditions. Nightshades tend to be the most typical choice to follow beans -- Nightshade is a family of plants that includes tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, and peppers. Since you are probably already set up with poles - I might go for indeterminate tomatoes (which are really vines and require support).
04 Jul 22, Lolly Jones (USA - Zone 7b climate)
I have a entire row of beautiful pole beans with blooms but no beans. What do I need to do to get beans?
05 Jul 22, (USA - Zone 4a climate)
From flower should come beans, give it time.
18 Jun 21, Barker (USA - Zone 8b climate)
I’m in zone 8b and my pole beans grow like mad so I’ve never had problems with my soil and it’s mostly cow pasture about 30 years ago in other words there’s nothing in it only what I put in it. I started some raised garden beds with rich top soil and I planted small amount of seeds basically what I planted in the big garden except for a few. My pole beans were over 7 years old along with some of the other seeds but I used them to. Before you plant your beans check them out if you see a tiny little hole in it they will not grow. I soak my beans for 20 minutes before hand planting
23 Jun 21, Anonymous (USA - Zone 10a climate)
Soak over night - up to 12 hours then plant.
09 Feb 21, McDaniel (USA - Zone 10a climate)
Can you start pole beans inside instead of outside. My ground not ready yet
15 Feb 21, Anonymous (USA - Zone 5a climate)
You have to be very careful growing seedlings indoors. New seedlings chase the sunlight and become very long (leggy) and thin stalked and therefore weak. Easy to snap the stalk. I germinate seed under shade cloth part day in sun, part day in shade. Two days after germination I take the shade cloth off. I move the table to vary the hours of sunlight and shade depending on how small/big seedlings are and what the temperature is.
Showing 1 - 10 of 16 comments

Thanks for this info., I had great success with twine on bamboo for peas and bamboo poles for beans.

- Jane

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