"Growing Green Beans"

Green Beans are a colourful and nutritious vegetable to grow in the garden. There are so many different varieties, we really are spoilt for choice.

The haricots they grow predominantly in France are a fast growing, easy to maintain bushy plant and produce huge crops.

The only way to deal with them all, apart from giving them away, is to get creative in the kitchen and produce curries, stir fries, and you could always freeze a couple of bags for the winter months.

Otherwise you could try growing climbing varieties. Build a teepee especially for runner beans with canes or long thing branches and tie them together at the top, then run strings around them at intervals of about 12 inches or so, securing the strings tightly around the poles. Your plants will use the string to cling on to as well as the pole.

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Thompson and Morgan supply several different varieties of green beans Growing Green Beans in the UK and the US link for Thompson and Morgan: Green Beans in the US from the quick index choose 'B' For all other countries start here on their homepage and choose your country.

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Planting green beans: Beans like a sunny spot and the ground should be prepared well. Dig over and remove any large stones and weeds. They don't tend to be frost-resistant, although check on your seed packet as some hybrid varieties may be hardier.

Plant your seed a few inches apart in lines, or round a teepee structure. Broad beans will need a slightly larger growing space and seed should be planted about 4 inches apart. Again though, check on the growing recommendations on your seed packet.

For an inexhaustible supply :-), sow a short line every couple of weeks. Haricots work well with staggered planting systems. They grow in lines of very neat little bushes and they also grow fairly rapidly.

Caring for green beans Keep watered and weed-free, especially in the early months of growth. When the plants get bigger, they overcome most of the weeds with their lush foliage. Spray the flowers of runner bean plants every day, maybe even twice a day, during dry periods. This 'sets' the flowers. Hot dry weather can make them drop and you won't get any beans.

Broad beans often get infested with black fly in the early summer. Pinching off the tops of your plants may help avoid an attack. There are organic pest control products to help with the problem. Although black fly are very invasive once they get a hold so keep a look out for them. Black fly will spread to all neighbouring bean plants very quickly so if you do find a heavily infested plant, cut your losses and pull it up. Then treat the other plants and keep a watchful eye!

Harvesting: Pick your beans when they are young. They can be stringy when they get too old, and younger veggies are always tastier. Use them on the day you pick them. They shrivel if left for a few days. The ones we buy in supermarkets have often been sprayed with some chemical or other that gives them a longer shelf life, but with home grown veggies, the biggest joy of all is being able to eat fresher vegetables and no chemicals.

Leave a few pods on the plants to fully mature to collect the seed for next years planting.

Beans can be stored for a day or two in the salad compartment of the refrigerator. Or you can freeze beans quite successfully, although they lose a certain amount of texture and colour, they are still worth digging out of the freezer in the middle of winter.

You'll find more about growing vegetables and even a few recipe ideas in my book recently published with Findhorn Press. Click on this link Grow Your Own Pharmacy to take you to the page where you can read more about the book. You really can grow enough fruit and veg to keep your family glowing with good health!

Happy Gardening!

More "Garden" reading

http://www.flower-and-garden-tips.com/greenbeans.html