The Ultimate Guide to Growing Beans and Legumes

Commonly eaten worldwide, beans and legumes are rich sources of fiber, essential vitamins and minerals, and plant-based protein.

HEALTH BENEFITS

Beans and legumes have several health benefits. , rich in plant-based protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals like iron, folate, and potassium, and low in fat. They support heart health, digestion, and blood sugar levels.

Types of Beans

Warm season bean plants are cultivated for their highly nutritious immature pods (snap beans), immature seeds (shell beans) or mature seeds (dry beans). Beans may fall into two categories: determinant-type growth, those that grow as a low bush, or indeterminant, those with a vining habit requiring support, also known as pole beans. Green snap beans may be the most familiar to people. These green beans with an edible pod used to be called ‘string’ beans, but today’s varieties have been bred to lack the tough, stringy fiber along the pod’s seam. Now they “snap” in two easily. Some green snap beans are not green at all, but purple and, when cooked, become green. There are also wax beans, which are simply a variant of snap bean with a yellow, waxy pod. Lima or butter beans are grown for their immature seed which is shelled. These beans are flat and rounded with a very distinct flavor. They are the most sensitive type of bean. Horticultural beans, commonly referred to as “shelly beans” (among many other various monikers), are large seeded beans with a tough fiber lined pod. The seeds are usually shelled while still relatively soft, harvested when the beans are fully formed but not dried out. They may be either bush or pole types and many of the heirloom varieties are horticultural. Cowpeas are also referred to as southern peas, crowder peas, and blackeye peas. They are, indeed, really a bean and not a pea and are grown as a dry or green shell bean. Kidney, navy, and pinto are all examples of dry use cowpeas.

How to Plant Beans

All types of beans should be sown after the danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed to at least 50 F. (10 C.). Sow all beans except cowpea, yard-long and lima one inch (2.5 cm.) deep in heavy soil or an inch and half (4 cm.) deep in light soil. The other three types of beans should be planted a half inch (1 cm.) deep in heavy soil and an inch (2.5 cm). deep in light soil. Cover the seeds with sand, peat, vermiculite or aged compost to prevent soil crusting. Plant bush bean seeds 2-4 inches (5-10 cm.) apart in rows that are 2-3 feet (61-91 cm.) apart and plant pole beans in either rows or hills with seeds 6-10 inches (15-25 cm.) apart in rows that are 3-4 feet (approximately 1 meter or so) apart. Provide support for pole beans as well. Growing pole beans gives you the advantage of maximizing your space, and the beans grow straighter and are easier to pick. Bush-type bean plants need no support, require little care, and can be picked whenever you are ready to cook or freeze them. They typically produce an earlier crop too, so successive plantings may be necessary for a continual harvest. Growing beans, regardless of type, do not need supplemental fertilizer but they do need consistent irrigation, especially while budding and on into setting pods. Water bean plants with an inch (2.5 cm.) of water per week depending upon weather conditions. Water in the morning so the plants can dry rapidly and avoid fungal disease.

When and How to Harvest for Food Consumption

Beans can be harvested in the snap/green stage, the shelling stage, or the dry stage. Try to harvest beans before the first frost. Some gardeners extend their season by covering their plants with sheets, blankets, or row cover ahead of cold weather.

Snap or green beans are ready for harvest when the pods are still tender before the seeds start to swell. Shelling beans are ready for harvest after the pod has changed color and the beans have plumped, but before the pods and seeds have dried. Dry beans are ready for harvest when the pods are dry and brittle and the seeds inside are hard.

Eating

Green (snap) beans are best eaten fresh, canned, or frozen. Shelling beans are best eaten fresh and must be removed from their shells before being eaten. Dry beans must be soaked and boiled before eating.

Storing

Dry beans can be stored for months or years. Green beans last in the refrigerator for about a week.

How to Save Bean Seeds

Life Cycle

Annual

Recommended Isolation Distance

Separate varieties by 10-20 feet.

Recommended Population Size

To ensure viable seeds, save seeds from at least 1 plant. When maintaining a variety over many generations, save seeds from 5-10 plants. If you’re saving seeds for genetic preservation of a rare variety, save seeds from 20 plants.

Assessing Seed Maturity

Only save seeds from healthy plants. Harvest the bean seeds when they are very hard and their pods are dry and brittle. Mature seed pods will have begun to fade in color.

Harvesting

The fruits of bean plants split open at maturity, but the pods of most varieties of common beans can be left on the plant to dry fully without fear of losing seeds to shattering.

Bean pods can be handpicked, or whole plants can be cut at the base. Most gardeners collect fruits from pole beans by hand as they mature, and even if entire bush bean plants are to be harvested only for seeds, handpicking pods is common on the home garden scale.

If harvested prior to the pods turning tan and papery, the pods should be allowed to dry on screens or landscape fabric in a protected place until the seeds become too hard to dent with a fingernail.

Cleaning and Processing

If bean pods are not completely dry before the first frost, pull the plants up and dry them further indoors. When the bean pods are completely dry, break them open to release the seeds. Separate the seeds from the chaff.

Storage and Viability

Store beans in cool, dark, and dry places and always keep them in an airtight container to keep out moisture and humidity. Under these conditions, you can expect your bean seeds to live 3-4 years.