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

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

Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug
S	S	S	S
T	T	T	T	T
P	P	P	P

(Best months for growing Beans - climbing in Australia - tropical regions)

S = Plant undercover in seed trays
T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
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

Your comments and tips

26 Oct 20, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I have done two plantings of climbing beans recently, 1st crop has just finished and 2nd crop I'm picking now. I have trellises 2.4m long and wire mess 2m high. I plant seeds about 15-20cm apart. Didn't take them long to grow 2m tall. Mine just flapped in the wind and then started growing down the trellis. I'm picking 1kg each 2-3 days. So I don't think you need to pinch or train them sideways etc.
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04 Jun 20, Josie (Australia - temperate climate): I live in Adelaide and my climbing beans still green are sending out flowers. I would have thought, their season would be over. The beans are rather small in comparison to what I was harvesting over autumn. Should I pull out the climbing beans and make room for a new vegetable? thanks
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05 Jun 20, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate): All depends what you want to do with the soil. If still producing a decent crop for the effort, leave them in. If you have had a good crop and/or you want to start preparing the soil for another crop then time to pull out. Like if I have spent $1.25 for 25 seeds and they have produced 3-4kg of beans worth $15-25 then I'm happy to pull out if production has dropped. With my dwarf beans in the spring I generally do 3 good pickings then it is time to pull out. I usually have 3-4 plantings following each other.
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01 Jun 20, Denise van der Marel (Australia - temperate climate): Hi there, thank you for your reply. I know they can grow up to 150cm. but I'm not sure if that categoriseses these beans as dwarf (bush) beans or climbing beans?
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02 Jun 20, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Beans and peas are fundamentally different in how they climb. Peas send out little side tendrils that cling to trellises like tiny hands, and hold on that way – the central plant grows straight (ish) upwards, relying on it’s curly hands for support. Therefore, pea trellises need to include thin wires/strings etc, so that the pea’s little tendrils have something to hang on to as they grow. Beans, however, twine upwards with the whole plant, so they can handle chunkier trellises made of bamboo, wood etc. This is why they’re sometimes called pole beans – cause all they need is a pole, and up they’ll grow.
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23 Apr 21, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate): Thanks for this info., I had great success with twine on bamboo for peas and bamboo poles for beans.
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02 Jun 20, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I would say they are a bush as they don't have tentacles to attach themselves to a trellis/???.
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26 May 20, Eric Brooker (United Kingdom - warm/temperate climate): Do runner beans grow up poles in clockwise direction? Anti clockwise here. Of course I need to know!
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01 Jan 21, Jason (Australia - temperate climate): Good question. Mine are growing up in a clockwise direction - Penrith, NSW Australia.
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27 May 20, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate): I suggest you grow some, then you will be the expert.
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Beans fix their own nitrogen, which if you like to companion plant (and some people do), the beans don't compete for the nitrogen. Some studies indicate the the beans assist (perk) the other plants by giving them nitrogen WITHOUT over supplying nitrogen - and too much nitrogen can be a problem for some plants (corn in particular). The standard North American Indian Three sisters planting is: Corn, beans and squash. This combination dates back ........ probably centuries and it has been around a long time for good reason: Corn is actually fairly WEAK rooted when young; corn can uprooted fairly easily when it starts growing. Squash on the other hand is a rooting power house. The squash stabilizes the corn. The squash with it's large leaves ALSO shades the soil (all plants that I know of like shaded soil, keeping their roots cooler -- even full sun plants want shaded soil). The beans then scamper up the corn, and perk the corn and squash with nitrogen. What your asking is can I take this classic all time threesome and substitute sweet potatoes for the squash. I really can't see a reason why you could not. It sounds reasonable. Further more Blistering on sweet potatoes can be prevented by adding Borax to soil - and corn loves boron (boron gives corn not only better tassels but better yields). Additionally, both corn and sweet potatoes need and love potassium. So when I think about it... it sounds like a really good combination. Best of Luck.

- Celeste Archer

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Gardenate

Keep your garden growing - see what to plant right now

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

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

Your comments and tips

Gardenate

Keep your garden growing - see what to plant right now

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

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

Your comments and tips

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