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Growing Green Beans For
Fresh and Storage

Snap beans ready to harvest

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• Growing Green Beans
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Growing Green Beans

Growing green beans refers to harvesting and consuming beans in their unripe stage. While there may be some small difference in plant spacing, growing height and length of time plants will produce, growing beans for eating as green beans varies little no matter the color, type or variety grown.

Sowing Bush Bean Seeds

Direct sowing Organic Bean Seeds - For all types, 1 -2 inch (25 - 50 mm) deep, 2 inches (50mm) apart in rows 18-24 inches (45-60 cm) apart, thin to the strongest plants, 4 inches (10 cm) apart.

Photo right - To ensure a continuous supply when growing bush beans in the home garden, plant smaller amounts every 2-4 weeks rather than one big planting.
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Photo left - The Dragon Tongue bean plant is a bush type but when growing a low trellis is helpful. As seen in the photo the pods are a cream color with vivid violet variegations throughout its stringless pod. The broad pods average 6 inches (15 cm) in length and bear 4-6 bone white seeds with pink to purple stripes. It can be eaten fresh or as a dried legume. When harvested fresh, the entire bean, shell and seeds are edible and can be eaten either raw or cooked, however the color fades during cooking.
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Photo right top - Wax beans, also known in some areas as butter beans or yellow beans are an edible snap bean known for their bright yellow coloration. Similar in taste to green beans where the pod and bean seed intact can be eaten cooked or raw.
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Photo right bottom - growing wax beans these beans while they are a bush variety, similar to dragons tongue beans, tend to grow taller than most bush types and usually need a low trellis or similar to keep them upright and help in ease of harvesting.
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Indeterminate

Climbing beans, pole beans

Photo left - The varieties of this indeterminate type develop into vines and will continue to grow until killed by frost or unfavorable growing conditions. Climbing beans require a trellis or some means of support. They grow, flower, and set fruit over the entire growing season. These Kentucky Wonder pole beans are just starting a long season of production.
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Sowing Pole Bean Seeds

Climbing or pole beans can also be grown in hills. With 4-6 seeds per hill, those are spaced 30 inches (75 cm) apart, and with 30 inches (75 cm) between rows. Use 6-8 foot (1.8-2.4 meter) poles for supporting the beans by setting the same amount of poles around the hill as there will be plants, and tie them all together at the top.

Photo right - Or along a trellis, again 6-8 feet (1.8-2.4 meter) in height with some sort of netting or Latticework support, 4-6 inches (10-15 cm) square is large enough to allow easy bean harvesting . This doesn’t have to be anything fancy as the beans plants themselves are very robust.
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Generally, for all types of climbing or pole beans seed can be sown 4 inches (10cm) apart, thinning to strongest plants, 8 inches (20 cm) between plants is a good spacing.

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