How To Grow Green Beans

The type of green bean that I like to grow is the climbing French bean. They are prolific, easy to grow and you can plant them directly into the ground or I prefer to start them off in pots. I plant each seed into a three inch pot and filled with compost.

Then I put a little bit of perlite over the top. Perlite is actually really good for drainage in pots, but it's very good also to spread into the surface which stops the soil drying out. To support the beans when they are growing, I create a tepee out of bamboo canes.

I use 8 canes, space them well apart and then join them together at the top with a little bit of garden twine. I plant one bean plant on either side of each of the cane and then tie them in so that they can grow up to the top of the tepee. Before they get to the top of the tepee, I nip out the buds so that they can produce beans rather than just putting on new growth.

Beans prefer to be grown in full sun, but they will take some shade. You'll get less beans, but you will be able to grow them in the shade. Beans don't need any extra nitrogen because they have a very specific way of fixing nitrogen and getting it out of the soil themselves.

Plow very carefully around the plant because they are quite shallow rooted so don't disturb them. Maybe even do a little hand weeding to keep the weeds down. They need a lot of water while they are growing but try to avoid spraying water directly onto the plants leaves.

The beans should be ready to harvest about 60 to 90 days after you planted them. Harvest the beans before you see a bulge in the pods. The beans should be crisp and snap when you break them.

Pick the beans regularly and they'll keep producing more beans. Rotate the beans, at least every three years and preferably annually. And those are some simple tips on how to grow great beans.

Growing green beans can be a great pastime. They can be grown quite easily and will produce a good crop. This video will teach you how to grow great green beans.