No yield

20 years ago

Hi, I planted green beans for the first time this year, along with other veggies. I planted 2 kinds, one of which is called Romano Pole bean, and I've unfortunately forgotten the other variety, but I think it was either Blue Lake or Kentucky Wonder. I planted them in various places in my yard, using tomato cages for support, as well as some rabbit fencing I found that someone was throwing away. Anyway, they are flowering, but I've only gotten a handful of beans off of them. Most of the beans I find on them are already brown and dried. I keep looking and not seeing any beans. Some get sun starting around mid morning, 10 or 11 a.m., while one of the towers I made doesn't get sun until 1:00 p.m., but it gets sun the rest of the day. I'm in the Dallas area. Believe it or not, I've been getting loads of squash, which is supposed to be near impossible to grow here, along with tomatoes, but no green beans. I thought they were supposed to be one of the easiest veggies to grow. Now the leaves are starting to yellow. I do garden organically, and worked lots of manure and compost into the soil. I also planted some squash underneath some of the beans, trying that old technique. Interestingly, those squash plants have not had as much yeild as the squash I planted away from the beans. However, none of the beans, planted in various parts of my yard, have yielded even a serving's worth. Is it just too early? I think I planted them late March or early April, when I planted everything else. I can't think of any other info, other than I do hand water them, and use the sprinkler once or twice a week. We are on watering restrictions, so I can only use the sprinkler a couple of times a week. I think hand watering them is better, anyway. Could it be a pollination thing? I don't use insecticides, and I have loads of bees, butterflies, hummers and other tiny nectaring insects.

Sally

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Comments (6)

gonefishin
20 years ago
It is a strange year for me too, over on the S.E. side of the Metroplex. I planted a long row of beans. About a third of the row in Lima beans, another third in Kentucky Wonder and the remaining third in Blue Lake (all bush beans). I also planted some yard long beans that a neighbor gave me to climb on part of the garden fence.

Kentuck Wonder produced well, The Blue Lake produced fair, the Limas have about a gadzillion blooms on them but have only produced about three beans. The yardlong beans on the fence produced well, but are magnets of aphids, ants and several other kinds of insects, I did not like them and even my wife who loves green beans did not like them.
Like you, I have been wondering what is up with them Limas doing all that blooming without setting any beans. They get a little more sun than the other varieties got. None of them get early morning sun.
Bill P.
zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
20 years ago
I think this has been a strange year for many regions, if not nationwide. Many of my plants here are just now beginning to take off, after a month of near-zero growth.

For the original post, I wonder if the manure turned into the soil where the beans are planted raised the N excessively. The squash would like it, the beans wouldn't. But that would cause lush leaf growth; if you have serious leaf yellowing, it may be disease. You might want to post a photo, so the pros can take a look at it.

For the limas, Gonefishin, I wonder if you are missing your pollinators? For me, limas just bloom & drop, until bumblebees appear - then they set in large numbers. The strange weather this year has affected bees too; the ground-dwelling bees that normally appear when my trees bloom appeared 2 weeks early this year. And I actually saw honeybees on my apple trees for the first time in years (that would be a good thing) :-)
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sally2_gw
Original Author
20 years ago
I've never been good at posting pictures. I need to get set up with a photo hosting site one of these days so I can post pics.

I did wonder about the nitrogen thing, since they have been growing like crazy.

Sally
feldon30
20 years ago
Most people use PhotoBucket.com for hosting. Once you have the URL to the image, paste it like this:

<img src="http://www.photobucket.com/members/sally2/DSCF0053.jpg">;
sally2_gw
Original Author
20 years ago
Okay. I'll try to get some pictures loaded, maybe this weekend when I have more time to do it. Thanks.

Sally
helenmarie
20 years ago
My beans aren't producing either. I have lots of blossoms, but I've only had 5 bean pods. I've had good luck with beans previously and I haven't done anything differently. I rotate among 3 raised beds, last used this bed with beans 2 years ago. Thre's some rust on the bottom leaves, but nothing unusual with that and it's never impaired the harvest before, and there are plenty of blossoms. I've had some japanese beetles, but I never see them on the blossoms. It does appear as if some blossoms are nipped off, but I haven't been able to see the culprit. I read in gardening book that sometimes sparrows or bumblebess can eat the blossoms causing no beans to set.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? Any suggestions?