Pole Beans – Vegetable Profile
| Name | Pole Beans (Green Beans, Snap Beans, String Beans) |
| Verities | Kentucky Wonder, Blue Lake, Romano Italian |
| Family | Legume |
| Exposure | Full sun light |
| Size | Up to 8′ tall (Trellis required) |
| Days to Harvest | 50-60 Days |
| Description | Pole beans are several inches long and are a deep, full green color (some varieties are different colors). When harvested as "green beans" they are about the thickness of a pencil. The plant has tear shaped leaves that grow to the size of an open hand. |
| Sowing | Pole Beans should be sown out doors after the threat of frost has past. Sowing in doors is possible, but Pole Beans grow fairly fast making this unnecessary. Plant each bean about an inch deep with its eye facing down. Space about 4-5" apart. |
| Growing | All plants in the legume family produce their
own nitrogen from a symbiosis with a bacteria that takes nitrogen from the
air and puts it in the soil. Because of this Pole beans do not
require much fertilization with nitrogen, how ever, it does take a little
time to get the bacteria producing so a light fertilization with nitrogen
upon germination can be helpful.
Not much help is needed to get the plant started but once it starts to reach 2-3′ tall it will need more nutrients, and as such should be fertilized with a low nitrogen fertilizer. |
| Harvest | Once the beans have reached a harvestable size
(about as thick as a pencil) they should be harvested. This size
bean will be at its best flavor and will not be stringy.
Continued harvest will cause the plant to continue to grow more beans. When the growing season nears an end, allow a few been pods to reach full maturity to save for sowing next season! |
| Notes | Try not to plant legumes in the same spot to many times. It will lead to an excess of nitrogen in the soil and cause many problems! |
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Related posts:
Have you joined our Zone 9 Gardening Forum yet?
