I hope somebody can help me with this. I'm a first-time gardener with a modest square-foot style garden in our backyard (Southern California). Everything is doing great except for the pole beans.

I think maybe they have rust? Not sure ... They are climbing up the trellis like crazy - but the lower leaves keep dying. I have been removing dead-looking leaves, and my husband has used an insecticide from Home Depot. But I see the problem extending up the trellis now - not just the lower leaves.

My question - can I replant more pole beans in the very same area? There is time for that, but I wonder about the spread of whatever-this-is to future plants, though. One day I think I should just pull everything up and start over, and then the next I think I should just wait it out and see what happens. I've also wondered about replanting in the same spot to sort of "fill-in". It's not as densely planted as it could have been - and maybe these new seedlings would do better?

My bush beans in another area are doing great. But I devoted a prime spot for these pole beans and was looking forward to picking them all summer long. Help?