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POLE BEANS

Pole beans are grown on plants which climb and continue to grow and produce a harvest over a long period of time. They are a great vegetable to have in your garden producing an abundant, tasty crop.

Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans
Choosing where to grow pole beans in your garden plot is the hardest part to having a wonderful harvest of one of the best tasting vegetables you can serve at the dinner table. They are particularly good for small gardens as they use the vertical space.

Pole beans like warm weather and should never be planted if any danger of frost still threatens, spring time is usually OK. Choose a site that receives full sun.

Pole beans require a loose well draining soil; make sure the ground has been well prepared over the winter months with well rotted manure or organic compost. Buy a Soil pH Meter as it will eliminate any guesswork and make sure your plants get the ideal start; a pH range of 6.0 to 7.5 is ideal for pole beans to thrive and reward you with an abundant harvest.

The High Density Gardening book will help you grow the maximum amount of fresh, healthy and wholesome crops in the smallest of spaces, with no back breaking digging, minimal effort and only a few hours of work a week.

Before you plant your seeds, wait until the soil has warmed up to 60F. Putting cloches in place before sowing will help to warm the earth and this will get you off to an early start. Also use can use cloches for protection if any danger of frost threatens your seedlings (otherwise your work will be for nothing as germination will be sparse and lead to poor seedlings).

One of the things that will help you to be successful when growing vegetables, and pole beans are no exception, is to follow the rules of crop rotation, so don’t follow on with related legume crops like peas, bush beans etc.

Use the garden centers for information on what varieties of pole beans are best for your area, also the information on the seed packets is a good guide as to what conditions are suitable and when to sow. It’s a good idea to buy seed that has been treated to resist disease.

Keep the soil only slightly moist as pole beans are allergic to wet conditions, but you need to ensure the soil does not form a crust or the seedlings will not be able to penetrate the surface without damage.

Trellis for Pole Beans
Trellis
Ways of growing pole beans:

Up a trellis or fence
Plant seed in rows about 2 foot apart and 1½ inches deep in sandy soil or l inch in heavy soil. As the pole beans start to grow, thin them so they are spaced about 3-4 inches apart.

On a teepee
Make a teepee with several stakes tied at the top. Spread the bases out to form a circle and plant 6 seeds at the base of each pole thinning down to three. This tower assembles quickly and supports at least 12 plants.

On poles
Make sure the support is at least 6 foot high above ground and at least 2/3 foot underground to give a solid support for the pole beans when they have matured. Plant several seeds at the base of each. Poles are preferable as they make harvesting beans that much easier than netting.

Cultivate frequently to keep weeds down, making sure you do not disturb the shallow root system, using organic mulch is a very good idea to control the weeds. You pick the pods before they starts to bulge, which is when they will be nice and firm and crispy.Some recommended varieties of pole beans:
  • Blue Lake – 65 days to harvest; oval, straight, string less, juicy and tender pods, resistant to bean mosaic
  • Kentucky Wonder – 65 days, fine flavor, 9 inch pods in clusters
  • Kentucky Blue – 65 days, AAS Winner, round 7 inch pods, combines the best of the two above varieties
The plant continues to form new flowers and produces more pole beans if pods are continually removed before the seeds mature.

Fresh pole beans can be stored, unwashed in plastic bags in the vegetable crisper of the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Do not wash them before storing as they will decay overnight; remember to wash them prior to eating them though.Check out the other vegetables which you can grow in your garden.