Seed to Seed guide: Beans
Generally, the beans we eat are separated into three main categories depending on how they are used in cooking; snap beans, which are prepared and eaten whole with the pod still on, shelling beans, which as the name suggests have to be shelled in preparation for cooking, and dry beans, which are left on the plant until the pod is fully mature and dried out before shelling and storage.
They are also divided by growing habits. Pole beans grow tall and gangly, and require an extensive lattice or pole to support the weight of the plant as the beans mature. Bush beans grow, well, bushy. They are excellent for children, container gardeners, or those who don’t want to pull out the stepladder to harvest the topmost beans. Half-runner beans are a mix between Pole and Bush beans, growing upward on long “runners” or vines but staying smaller like their bush bean counterparts.
Beans are a classic ingredient in a huge variety of dishes and cuisines. Snap beans can be steamed or blanched to be served as a garnish, a side dish, or pickled for a tasty snack. Shelling beans can show up in everything from pasta to summer salads, and dry beans are a staple of soups, chilis, stews, and other comforting dishes to soothe the soul during the long winter months.
Seed Starting:
Beans love heat and grow rapidly, so it’s best to direct seed them when the soil has warmed to about 50℉/10℃. In Minnesota, this means you should wait to plant your beans until late May or even early June, as beans planted in colder temperatures may rot before they germinate.
Prepare the garden bed or large container (a five-gallon bucket with holes poked in the bottom works well for this) in a warm spot that gets full sun. Make sure to mix in lots of organic material like compost or manure to help feed the bean's rapid growth
Install a trellis or pole to support the beans as they grow. Depending upon the variety you use, these can be very short or very, VERY tall. Pole beans can grow over 6 feet tall, half-runners generally stay in the 3-5 foot range, and bush beans rarely exceed 2-3 feet, so keep that in mind when selecting your supports
For pole and half-runner beans you can plant your beans four inches apart with 2-4 seeds per support pole. Bush beans need a bit more room to grow, one bean per 4 inches with rows 1-2 feet apart. Regardless of type, plant each seed about 1 inch deep, or the distance between your first and second knuckle on your middle finger.
Cover the beans with soil and water deeply, making sure the soil is soaked to the depth you planted the beans. The seeds should sprout within 8-10 days after planting.
Ongoing Care:
Beans need moist soil in order to grow optimally. You should be watering your bean plants deeply at least once a week if it is not raining, and more often as the days get hotter and drier as the dog days of summer approach.
Beans will need help competing with weeds as they are starting to grow, due to their tendency to grow upward, rather than outward, so you will need to weed them regularly to avoid them being choked out by weeds. Use a hand hoe, rake, or your hands to weed while the beans are still small, once they are large enough not to be crushed or buried by the weight of mulch on top of them, we recommend spreading 3-4 of mulch; either straw, grass clippings, woodchips or dead leaves in order to minimize time spent weeding.
While Bush beans do not need large supports like their Pole or Half-runner cousins, as the season progresses the weight of the seed pods may cause them to list slightly from side to side. You can minimize this by “hilling” your beans, i.e. mounding up a bit of soil at the base of the stem to provide additional support, or by simply getting them a short plank or bamboo pole and tying them plant loosely to it with a length of kitchen string or garden twine.
How you determine when your beans are ready to harvest depends upon the variety you are growing. As a general rule of thumb; Snap beans are ready to harvest when the beans inside the pod are just beginning to bulge outward and the pods themselves are still tender and juicy, Shelling beans are ready when the pod is tough and thin, but not dry, and the beans inside are the correct size and color, and Dry beans should be left to ripen on the vine until their pods are completely dry and make a rattling sound when shaken.
If you are up for a fun experiment or simply want to take advantage of a cool quirk of plant physiology, try growing your beans using the Three Sisters method. The Three Sisters method is the English translation of an Indigenous farming practice that was common for millennia before and after the arrival of European settlers. It consists of planting corn, beans, and squash together in a bed in order to take advantage of each of their unique traits. The corn is planted first and acts as a trellis for the growing beans. The beans are next and fix nutrients like nitrogen into the soil for the mineral-hungry corn. Squash is planted last, and her sprawling vines and wide leaves spread out across the surface of the soil, acting as a living mulch to retain moisture and decrease weed competition. This method can also help you save room if you have a small garden, as you will be able to harvest three different plants from a single integrated bed.
Seed Saving:
Saving beans is one of the easiest things you can do in the garden. Just make sure you allow 10-20 feet of separation between different varieties of beans to avoid cross-pollination
Let your bean pods fully mature and dry on the vine. The beans are ready to be harvested when the pods are brown and papery to the touch and when the seeds inside rattle when shaken. If frost is a threat, you can pull the whole plant up at the base, remove the excess soil from the roots and let hang upside down to dry in a warm, well-ventilated area.
Remove the seeds from their pods just like you would when shelling, place them in an envelope labeled with the date and variety, and place them in a sealed container, like a mason jar. Store in a cool, dry place in your house, like a basement or a pantry. In ideal conditions, beans can last 3-4 years.
Check out these sources from the University of Minnesota, The Seed Savers Exchange, and Native Seeds Search for more information:
https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-beans
https://www.seedsavers.org/grow-bean and
https://www.nativeseeds.org/blogs/blog-news/how-to-grow-a-three-sisters-garden
For starting with seeds and saving seeds check out our Youtube channel under growing resources for 2023!
What kinds of Beans are you growing? Share with us on our Instagram or Facebook at Como Community Seed Library!
