MAIN Home Life Gardening Vegetables Beans

Generally considered second only to tomatoes in popularity among home gardeners, "snap" or green string beans are easy to grown and harvest.

As the name suggests, the pole bean variety can be grown using poles or stakes as support, or choose the bush type for lower growing plants and even less maintenance.

Eaten young & tender right off the vine, or steamed and served with butter sauce, green beans are a good source of fiber, carbohydrates. vitamin C and vitamin A.

A warm weather crop, sow beans in spring after all danger of frost is past. Like most vegetables in the home garden, they require plenty of sun and lots of moisture.

Since beans have a shallow root system be sure to water well and frequently - especially when blooms appear.

To avoid disturbing the delicate root system later, secure poles or stakes early in the growing cycle if planting pole beans. For an attractive garden centerpiece, use 4 slender poles to create a "tepee" that vines can grow up and around.

For best flavor, harvest just before full maturity when beans are about 4-6 inches long. A cut-and-come-again crop, the more you harvest beans the more will grow, so keep picking them to ensure that you will have a full bounty.

On the Web - How to plant & grow beans :

Watch Your Garden Grow - Beans - Recommended varieties of bush and snap beans for the home garden with advice on soil preparation, planting and growing, common problems & diseases, related FAQ, nutritional benefits, recipes.

BBC Gardening - Grow Beans - Expert tips for soil preparation, sowing, vine support, advice on harvesting, recommended varieties, with more on growing beans in pots & related recipes.

How to Grow Beans - Step by step instructions for sowing and planting with advice on disease prevention.

Easy Gardening ... Green Beans - - Illustrated fact sheet on proper weather conditions & watering, row spacing, support, harvesting & storage, recommended varieties for the home garden, and information on common pests.

Growing Peas and Snap Beans in the Home Garden - Good, general information on low growing and climbing varieties, planting requirements, harvesting.

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