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 61°F and 86°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 4 - 8 inches 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

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05 Sep 18, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Mike - have you planted out your tomatoes? Once established, do you use 2-3 tspns to 9L water per plant when watering/daily? Re: fertiliser, do you use that regularly around tomatoes/other plants and/or plant feed and/or soil conditioner or just fertiliser? Everyone should take up gardening.
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17 Jun 18, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi. I have just read that beans are not happy around chives but have a couple of climbing beans (and climbing peas)near chives. Should I leave them or dig up and transplant the chives ir beans or neither? Thanx.
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18 Jun 18, Mike L (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
If the plants are well grown leave them. If they are seedling stage transplant one or the other. Or let them go and see what happens.
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08 Jul 18, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Mike, just to say thank you. Appreciated. So far so good. They are (to my untrained eye) looking OK. I have sown several others along a fence in another garden area but am not sure how they'll go. This site is brilliant. Jane
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04 Mar 18, Raymond (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
We have a problem getting Parsly to germinate..What is the secret.
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05 Sep 18, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Raymond , I just sowed it and let it go. However, it seems to be a slow growing plant?
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05 Mar 18, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Parsley can take a long time to germinate - up to six weeks
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02 Feb 18, Dale (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I have recently planted climbing beans. but am having major problems with grasshoppers and leafhoppers, They aren't giving the seedlings a chance.. I have tried a couple of natural sprays but nothing is working,Today I even put plain flour over all things with leaves-still waiting on that one..ha ha . I have been squashing them too -yuck I have even planted flowers,.and coriander . They are loving the marigolds though... Also my kale is all but skeletons HELP
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05 Feb 18, Darren (Australia - arid climate)
Have you tried covering up the plants? Alternatively, apparently a yellow bucket of water attracts them. You could also try to attract birds to your garden. They will prey on the grasshoppers.
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07 Feb 18, Dale (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Thanks Darren for the reply.Yes I have been covering some plants with cheap bird netting but not beans. The moths can easily lay eggs on the netting if veggies are touching the netting. Also when I lift off the netting grasshoppers do hurry in...The yellow (huge horse bucket) is in the patch now. Just hope no good insects land in the drink...!!! We have peacocks,turkeys ,wild brush turkeys and goats free ranging,so all our veggie patches have to to be well meshed and chicken wired everywhere. Blessings to you and thanks a ton for info..
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Since I'm from North America, my answer is a "canned/typical" answer. MANY people use the 3 sisters planting here -- -- The "Three Sisters" planting method is a traditional Indigenous companion planting technique using corn, beans, and squash together in clusters. Today’s gardeners will want to keep in mind that Indigenous cultivators who originated Three Sisters farming would have been growing dent, flint, or flour corn rather than sweet corn. The corn stalks serve as a living trellis for their sister beans. Although you can grow sweet corn as a substitute for the flint type, avoid popcorn. The stalks of these plants are short enough that they might be overwhelmed by the other plants. Don’t attempt to substitute bush beans for the pole type, as the former won’t climb. You can choose whichever type of squash or pumpkin suits your fancy for this sister planting. Keep in mind that summer squashes tend to grow more bushy than vine-like, so they don’t make the best groundcover. In addition to the Three Sisters, you may also want to sow other tall plants, like sunflower, Jerusalem artichoke, or amaranth, in the spaces between the hills. There, squash vines will provide groundcover for them. In addition to attracting pollinators, these extra plants can produce a crop, too. Sow them at the same time you sow the corn to give them a head start on the squash vines. This planting creates a symbiotic system where corn provides a stalk for beans to climb, beans add nitrogen to the soil, and squash covers the ground to retain moisture and suppress weeds, offering a balanced, sustainable food source. The sequence involves planting corn first, then beans a few weeks later, and squash after the beans have started to grow, ensuring each plant supports the others as they mature. Plant the corn and beans on a mound -- and the squash around the mound -- plant the additional plants (if desired) between the mounds (sunflower, Jerusalem artichoke, or amaranth, or other tall plant). So in your case : 1. build your mounds & plant your SWEET corn in the middle of the mound (also plant the additional plants between the mound if desired - don't forget the boron for the corn), give it a couple of weeks, then 2. plant your POLE beans (or Green bean, string bean, snap bean), once the beans are going, 3. plant your WINTER squash around the mound. IF YOU ARE IN A VERY ARID AREA -- mounds dry out quickly, so you'll need to water MORE OR skip mounding and plant this formation flat.

- Celeste Archer

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