Green in garden, fresh on table
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Pole bean is warm weather vegetable.
The best temperature to grow pole bean is 57~77 F
At temperature lower than 50 F or higher than 86 F ,
pole bean will not grow well and suffer flowering and fruiting problem.
So in my area I grow pole bean in spring and Autumn time.
Like other beans, pole bean is very easy to sprout.
You can sow the seeds in garden directly.
I prefer to start seeds in seed stater.
pole bean cannot withstand water logging.
After sowing, keep your soil loose and light to medium wet.
Do not over-water it.
It will grow cotyledon in a week.
In the next three weeks,
pole bean will grow 4~5 leaves and start to develop vines.
It is better to transplant the seedlings ASAP
or the vines will tangle together.
Put a lot of organic fertilizer in the soil.
Turn over the soil and bury the fertilizer deep.
Spread some 10-10-10 fertilizer to mix with top soil.
Like most of the beans,
pole bean contains nitrogen fixing bacteria
within nodules in their root systems,
producing nitrogen compounds that help the plant to grow.
So to top dress your pole bean during its growing,
Nitrogen fertilizer usually is not necessary.
I usually use some 10-10-10 fertilizer
during flowering and fruiting stage to ensure a good yield.
Place the seedlings at least 1 ft apart
Dig a hole and bury the plug in the soil.
Fully water your seedlings after transplanting.
In the first 2 weeks, pole bean will develop roots in the soil
and the vines will grow longer
You will need to build a trellis for the vines to climb.
To direct the vines onto trellis,
tie a string on top bar,
pull it to middle bar
and make a single knot,
extend the string to bean vine and twin the vine with string.
My experience shows than two vines on a string
and two strings in a foot give me the best yield.
Besides main vine,
you can keep as many side vines as far as you have enough space.
Choose the strong vines to climb up trellis
and remove weak or extra vines.
Once pole bean climbs up trellis, the vines grow very fast.
In two weeks, it will reach the top of trellis
You should remove the tips as well as any side sprouts one ft at the bottom.
This will make the nutrients focus on flowering and fruiting.
My green bean does not grow many side vines
in the middle of main vine.
So I usually don't need to prune side vines.
If your green bean grows many side vines,
keep two to three leaves and remove the tip.
Pole beans grow flowers from petioles.
You can see a set of flower at every leaf from bottom to top.
Each set has many flowers.
How many flowers can grow into beans
depending on temperature, sunlight and nutrients.
Generally, at temperature between 59~77 F,
more sunlight condition
and with proper supplement of Potassium and Phosphorus,
green bean produces more and better quality of beans.
This pole bean is fruiting at temperature up to 90 F
The bean quality obviously is not as good.
The same set of bean may get ready at different time.
So when you pick it, try to not damage the other young beans.
You can have your beans producing up to 5 weeks.
Then the vines will get old.
I don't usually suggest to keep old vines
even they are still fruiting.
There are reasons for that:
1. Beans quality and quantity are much lower;
2. Old vines are easier to attract bugs
and suffer disease which will infect the whole garden;
3. Old vines are not as nice.
This variety of pole bean is originated
from the north of China.
It is called "white and not old" bean in China.
You can buy it online.
Compared to Kentucky and Blue lake pole bean,
this green bean is more heat resistant.
Then beans is very meaty and will not develop fibers when older.
Let the bean pod get dry on the vines,
you can collect the seeds for next time to grow.
Green bean has many different varieties available in market.
Different people have different preference.
The growing method should be similar
but may need some adjustment according to varieties and growing environment.
I hope my experience is useful.
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