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bahram03

Leggy beans. Do I start over?

8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago

Type of bean: Royal purple pod



I tried starting my beans early to experiment with if it will give me better results. Last year I direct sowed late into the summer and got a small harvest from around 9 plants. I left for about 5 days at work and came back to them being very leggy (or they seem leggy to me) Should I start over since its early or see what happens with these?

Comments (8)

  • PRO
    8 years ago

    Your beans need more light than what’s provided sitting on your desk.

  • 8 years ago

    I understand they need better lighting. They grew faster than i expected while i was away. The question is do i put them under a light source or start over

  • 8 years ago

    Start over. Those will always be weak however much light they get from now on.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    If you were to continue with these they would have to be planted twice as deep. Up to the seed still left on the stem. Then given extra lighting or put right beside a window.

  • 8 years ago

    Beans at first leaf stage are normally about 3 to 4". Transplanting beans to the garden doesn't gain you much. Just direct sow when its warm enough. Early to mid May in Queens.

  • 8 years ago

    Ditto on starting over. Had they been pole beans going into the ground now, they might have been salvageable if tied up - but bush beans will just fall over. Planting beans deeper than the original soil line is not encouraged, since they will not root from the stem, and are more likely to rot.

    Regarding bean transplants in general... with few exceptions (such as cool maritime climates, very short seasons, rare and/or old seed, and seed saving) most gardeners are better off direct seeding. This is particularly true for bush beans grown only for snaps, since you get so little return for the effort, and they have such short DTM's if direct seeded. Long-season pole beans are worth starting as transplants for those in short-season areas, since you get such a high yield per plant. They should not be started too early, though, since they quickly become root bound. I recommend starting beans only 2-3 weeks before the intended transplant date. They should go into full sun as soon as they germinate, since few artificial light sources are bright enough.

    Because I have a short season & grow beans for seed, I use bean transplants a great deal; but normally only for pole beans. The extra few weeks gained often makes the difference between success & failure, for getting dry seed - especially for limas. The transplants have also been very effective as backups, in case the direct-seeded beans fail... they have saved my bean seed crops the last two years.

  • 8 years ago

    Any update on them?

  • 8 years ago

    I listened to everyone and threw them out. Will direct sow when the weather is at least a constant 60