Bush Bean Fast Facts
Cool or warm weather: Warm
Size: Medium
Sun: 6-8 hours
Days til maturity: 50-70 days
Water: Moderate
Original or Leaf GreenStalk: Both
GreenStalk level: Below smaller plants
Plant support needed: Yes
Green beans may not be surrounded by much fanfare, but they are a staple in many households around the world. We just so happen to love growing bush green beans in the GreenStalk Planter! They are one of the easiest vegetables to grow and germinate quickly (4 to 10 days).
There are so many varieties available that it can be difficult to choose. One of our favorites isn’t green at all - it’s yellow! Gold rush (a yellow wax bean) is high-yielding and very tasty right off the bush. Other popular varieties include blue lake, provider, Kentucky wonder bush, jade, royal Burgundy, and many others.
Planting & growing
For good germination, it’s best to wait until temperatures approach 65-75 F (18-21 C). Remember to read the back of your seed pack, but also that you are growing in a container. The soil in containers can be slightly warmer or colder than the ground. Because bush beans are nitrogen fixers, crop rotation is recommended. In our experience, growing a second consecutive crop in the GreenStalk with amended soil has produced great results. Sow three beans per pocket directly in the Original or Leaf Planter, and keep the soil slightly moist helps to ensure a bountiful harvest.
Fertilizing green beans can be tricky because they create, deposit, and use their own nitrogen. If you use potting soil without any nutrients, you can add a small amount of mild granular fertilizer and worm castings before planting. No additional fertilizer should be needed throughout the growing process. However, that’s not to say that if your plants become pale yellow early on, you shouldn’t add a mild solution of liquid fertilizer to help them along. Come fall, after the bush beans are spent, you can refresh your soil and grow nitrogen loving plants like lettuce, chard, kale, cabbage, and broccoli in that same planter.
Harvest every day
As with most summer vegetables, it’s best to harvest beans often while they are young and tender. Taking weather conditions into consideration, most bush beans will mature between 50-70 days. If you allow the beans to stay on the bush too long, the plants receive a signal to stop growing and start focusing on maturing the seeds. The beans inside the pods will become large and bulging. Sometimes even tiny new beans will develop one large seed in their pod. The outer shells will become tough while the beans are becoming seeds. You can allow mature pods to dry out on or off the bush, and then store them in a cool dry place for the next growing season.
In most locations in North America, there is time for multiple crops—or flushes—of beans within one season. Some gardeners choose to pull their plants after the first harvest and sow a second and sometimes a third crop. If you want a continual harvest, you must pick your beans almost every day while your plants are healthy and producing.
Enjoy!
The GreenStalk Planter makes sustainable gardening possible for everyone. Our Lead Gardener, Susie, has green beans in the freezer, seed pods drying for next year, and a fresh batch growing all at the same time! It's so easy to grow year-round fresh, clean produce in GreenStalk Planters. There's nothing like the satisfaction of growing your own food.
