Legume season just beginning in the Southern Hemisphere

17 years ago

Hi all,

I just thought I'd pop in and post some pictures of my beans which are growing quite well here in our southern spring! This is only my second year growing veggies so this is not an expert's garden by any means.

There's fruit setting on all my bush beans (which I planted mostly to occupy space between slower-growing crops- I'll probably pull them all once the first flush of beans is done), and the pole beans are racing for the heavens but haven't set fruit yet.

There's Windsor Long Pod bush beans, plus Purple King & Blue Lake pole beans.

Windsor Long Pod flowers on the bush

Windsor Long Pod beans developing from the flowers

Blue Lake & Purple King vines racing up the trellis. They grow so fast, I love watching them race each other to the top!

I'm growing these varieties because I had seed left over from last year, and a friend gave me the "Windsor Long Pod" seeds for my birthday.

I've also just added three types I've just acquired seed for: bush-type soy beans, a bush-type called "Sex Without Strings", and a pole snake bean. I'm hoping I haven't left it too late for them to grow- it's mid-spring here now.

I like reading all your reports on your bean varieties, I will try to expand my varieties next year (although the beans will have to compete with the tomatoes for my limited garden-space!).

I have planted some of my beans in the same row as my cucumbers as I read somewhere that they made good companions- they're sharing a solid metal trellis. Has anyone else tried this? Do you ever inter-plant beans with other plants to expand your available 'bean-planting' space without knocking out other veggies you want to grow as well?

Cheers,

Slashy

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Comments (3)

Macmex
17 years ago
Very nice pictures Slashy! We only just recently had our first killing frost, here in Oklahoma, and I'm already wishing I could plant again.

I have never tried planting cucumbers and beans together. It will be good to hear how this works for you. The only inter-planting I've tried, with beans, is beans with corn. However, I've heard of growing beans with sunflowers. Success with these combinations largely depends on timing. If planted too soon, the beans smother the companion plant. If planted too late, the companion plant out competes the beans.

George
cabrita
17 years ago
Nice pictures Slashy!

When you take the beans out (after they are done) just cut the root, do not pull the root out, and till the root into the soil for added nitrogen nodules.

I have small spaces too and we try to grow enough food for two. I have planted the following combinations:
Beans and corn
Beans and sunflowers
Beans and carrots (pole beans were supported on a pot)
beans and tomatoes
beans and greens (cole crops)

I have also done tomatoes and cucumbers. Also, there were some cucumbers growing with the corn, sunflowers and beans in a patch.

Just avoid: beans and alliums (garlic, onions, chives).

Good luck!
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slashy
Original Author
17 years ago
Hi, glad you liked the pictures!

I put my beans in as seeds at the same time as I was transplanting my cucumber seedlings, which were at the 2nd true leaf stage. This seems to have worked out pretty well for timing, as both beans & cucumber vines are happily climbing the trellis provided. The only problem seems to be that one of my zucchini plants is trying to shade out the entire cucumber/bean row, but I'm just going to keep hacking those huge zucchini leaves back until the cucumbers & beans are taller than the reach of the zucchini plant. I will try to get some photos of my mixed cucumber-bean row as the season goes on.

A lot of my pole beans are growing at the back of a greens & salad plot, and it certainly looks like a happy combination- the lettuce seems to love the extra nitrogen from the beans!

Thanks for the tip about leaving the roots in the ground. That's what I've done in the past with my legume plants, just cut them off at ground-level and composted the top halves. I shouldn't have said I'd 'pull' the bush beans when they were done, that wasn't really what I meant at all.