Pole Beans

Fresh pole beans are a nice light summer treat.

Time to harvest: 50-65 days

Pole beans are an easy to grow and productive plant. Beans can be grown as pole or bush, but growing pole beans maximizes space in the garden. Bush beans grow compactly, whereas pole beans can stretch up to 15 feet tall! Planting pole beans is a great idea for people in any climate.

Planting

Beans prefer warm weather and can be planted from mid-May up to the beginning of July. They can't tolerate frost, so be sure to wait until after the last Spring frost. The optimal soil temperature is 21-32 C (70-90 F). An organic fertilizer and a 3 inch layer of compost should be mixed into the top 6 inches of soil before planting. Beans prefer slightly acidic soil, with a pH of 6.5-7. Beans fix nitrogen, so they should be planted with carrots, celery, corn, cucumber, peas, potatoes, and radishes. Make sure to plant in an area recieving 6-8 hours of sunlight a day.

Seeds should be planted 7-10 centimeters away from each other and should be 3.5 centimeters deep in the soil.

Growth Guidelines

Bean seeds should sprout about 8-16 days after planting. Since pole beans can grow very tall, a trellis should be built for the seeds to wrap around while growing. The trellis should be around 6 to 8 feet tall. Kelp based fertilizers will help if pods do not occur. Mulch, like with the other vegetables, keeps the soil cool and moist.

Harvesting

When beans fully mature, the stop producing new pods so they should be harvested regularly. Smaller beans are usually the more tender and ripe ones. Beans can be harvested at any time. Beans with large bulges may be overripe.