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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19 Jun 17, Mike (Australia - temperate climate)
As soon as you have picked all the beans you can pull them down or let them die off if you want to. A suggestion either way you do it, put them on the lawn and run over them with the lawn mower - will chop them up into small pieces. Use as a mulch or compost them.
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21 May 17, Lynne Corkin (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Hi I am revamping my scarlet runner frame this year. I also have a fig tree which I would like to espalier on the same frame. Would they survive together?
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22 May 17, Jack (Australia - temperate climate)
The competition for water and nutrients between a fig tree and scarlet runner beans would be very strong, the fig being the likely winner as it would have the stronger root system. If you could keep up the nutrients and water it might work.
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09 May 17, ali (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Hi, I am looking into growing fardenlosa shiny beans commercially and have found a lot of useful info. However I can't seem to find info and how long these plants will produce a good crop and when to re sow?
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10 May 17, John (Australia - temperate climate)
Shiny Fardelosa beans take 11-13 weeks to harvest and will bear for 2-3 months. If you are growing them undercover they can be planted all year otherwise plant them in spring up until later in the year.
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24 Sep 17, Mel (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
Hi John, I am growing Fardenlosa in pots in a glasshouse (1500)... are bumblebees the best option to pollinate? cheers
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08 May 17, Mary Holland (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Will runner beans give beans for more than 1 year, if left in the soil.?
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08 May 17, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Yes, they will keep going unless you get frosts.
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03 May 17, Rosemary Jorgensen (New Zealand - temperate climate)
I also have grown trouble free Scarlet runner beans for years. Last year I had no beans at all. This year I had enough to feed us but none to give away. The culprit is the green vegetable bug or shield beetle. They suck and forming beans dry and then they do not develop. This last season, I examined them every day and squashed beetles. I still was scarcely winning the battle. It is hard to spray with anything because the plants are always in flower and we are eating them every day. I am also inundated with white fly. I sometimes have success water blasting them off, but they are far too persistent on the beans.
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04 May 17, Sean (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Climbing beans, such as Scarlet Runner, often don't set if you have a run of hot weather. White fly are attracted to bright colours like yellow. Get a piece of bright yellow card or plastic sheet and smear it with petroleum jelly. Tie or nail this to a stake near your beans. The white fly will be attracted to the yellow and will stick to the greasy petroleum jelly.
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Showing 141 - 150 of 268 comments
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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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