Bad track record with Green Beans--help!

12 years ago

The first time I tried to grow green beans, they didn't germinate well, and they never really became productive. The second time, germination was better, but they just grew poorly, and although they did produce some, they weren't the best.

This year, I am using a different seed company, in case that played a role. I was thinking maybe I had a soil problem in my plant bed, so this year I am thinking I will grow them elsewhere. I'm not sure if I tried planting them too early, or the soil was too poor, or some other issue. I don't think the soil was the greatest, but I grew snap peas in the same bed, and they did great.

I think the first year I planted them mid April, and last year I planted them in early May. We have very rainy springs here, so I don't know if that also played a role.

This year, I am growing my snap peas in potting bags along the fence (pictured--old picture, the peas are up and growing now, but I didn't have a good shot of that). Do you think it would work to plant the beans in the same bags, in front of the peas?

Any other advice for green beans in the Puget Sound area, please share! Thanks!

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Comments (4)

calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
12 years ago
I would wait for the soil to warm before planting beans, and I would want them in full sun, not up against a solid fence. Al
jemsister
Original Author
12 years ago
Last year I planted my zucchini about this time in April. Beans maybe a week before that. Zucchini did great, despite a cold snap we had on May 1, but even though the beans were not damaged by the cold snap, and the zukes were, it was the beans that did poorly. I grew the zukes in a bag of miracle grow, and the beans in the flower bed.

The fence gets morning sun, and some little bit of early afternoon sun, so maybe it would not get warm enough for the beans there. Maybe it would be a good place for lettuce during the warmer months?

I have a spot with a better soil mix in it, that I was planning to plant cukes in, but maybe I should put the beans there instead, and figure out something different for the cukes. I dunno. I will have to ponder.

Container gardening is a bit of a challenge! At least I have a south facing yard with no trees. XP
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gardenper
12 years ago
Interesting, you just added another answer to the question whenever people ask, "what kind of containers do you use" or "what can I use for containers"

Bags have been suggested before, but the way you use those bags, I think makes it unique to me as a different solution.

You say you even have trouble with bean germination. Try them in cups for seedlings inside your home. That will be your control environment, where you can affect the temperature, lighting, water, etc.

Then have some out in your garden area. You will have an idea if it's the location or if it's the beans.

Do you have a trellis or something for the beans and peas to climb?

I have recently read that too much moisture is not good for beans. They like the soil a little dry now and then. Or at least, dry on the top, moist on the inside. That might sound like many plants but in particular for beans, they may be more particular about it.
jemsister
Original Author
12 years ago
Hmm, that could be an explanation too, then, because the beans were planted in the bed that is under the hose, so it would get the drip-drip every time I used the hose. Hmm... =P We live in a damp climate. Moisture can be tricky in that bed, and I am told we almost always end the season with powdery mildew (which was true for me, with the peas, squash, and cukes).

Oh, I guess I should have specified that they are bush beans. The peas have a twine trellis on the fence. I did twine last year in a different spot, with stakes, and they seemed to do okay (although the trellis didn't end up being tall enough, and the top half of them fell over at the end of the season, lol).

Planting in bags was recommended to me by a local. It worked well for the season, but I found that I had to retire the bag at the end of the year because it was too rootbound to be planted in again (which was contrary to what I had been told).

That was a question I kept forgetting to ask. I tried to transplant a bean plant once, and it died. Are they finicky? Do I need to do anything special to give them a good chance?