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Growing Beans for bean lovers
So Many Choices Never Enough Garden Space
Growing Beans
The common bean is one of the most versatile and widely grown
vegetables in the home garden, classified as herbaceous annual plants
the produce from this plant can be consumed at three different stages of
development.
- First as green beans, the term green bean refers to the bean being
eaten in its green, unripe stage, rather than the color of the bean.
- The second is as green shelled beans, being harvested when the
beans in the pods are plump and still soft, before the pods begin to
turn brown and dry.
- Finally the third stage is as dried beans which are harvested when
the bean and pods are completely dry, beans harvested as dried beans
are cooked before consumption.
Growing Habit
Similar to tomatoes, beans have two different growing habits.
Climbing and Pole Beans - These are the indeterminate type:
varieties of this type develop into vines and will continue to grow
until killed by frost or unfavorable growing conditions.
Climbing beans
and pole beans require a trellis or some means of support. They grow,
flower, and set fruit over the entire growing season.
Bush Beans - The second growth type is determinate,
and like tomatoes of the same type, plants of this determinate type bean
will top off, or stop growing, at a specific height.
They will bear a
full crop over a shorter time than climbing or pole beans.
Bean types
There are many different varieties of beans, both determinate and indeterminate, a few of the most common beans grown are:
- Garden beans - usually eaten only as green beans
- Pinto beans - usually dried but can be harvested as green and green shelled.
- Navy beans also known as haricot beans - usually only dried
- Fava or Broad Bean - can be harvested and eaten as green, green shelled and dried
- Kidney bean - usually only dried
- Black turtle bean - usually only dried
- Lima beans also known as Calico, Madagascar, or Butter Beans - mostly harvested and eaten as green shelled and dried
While there are many different types and varieties of beans that can be grown in
the home vegetable garden, most have the same planting and growing
conditions. Check out below for the pages to cover many of the different
types of beans.
more bean pages
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