Hello Mid-Ohio Valley gardeners and farmers! The first week of June brought us some beautiful weather for working outside. I hope everyone took advantage of it and did some planting in the garden.

Gardening not only provides food for the family but can relieve stress as well! I enjoy planting seeds and watching them develop over the summer. Many people ask, “When is the best time to plant in the garden?” I say anytime.

Many vegetables can be planted throughout the summer and into fall. Farmer Elliot Coleman from Maine has a book entitled “Four Season Harvest”, which is a great read for gardening enthusiasts.

We are only a few weeks away from celebrating America’s 250th birthday. On June 17, 1775 The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought in Charlestown, Massachusetts. It was one of the early major conflicts of the American Revolutionary War.

The British Army believed they would easily crush the colonial resistance, but this not the case. Although British forces won the battle, the American Patriots put up a strong fight. This proved the colonial militias were a significant force to be reckoned with.

Green beans are a favorite among home gardeners, and for good reason. I can still remember my grandmother canning green beans all summer for many family members to enjoy. Most are easy to grow, produce an abundant amount of food, and are great soil builders for the backyard gardener.

They are the second most popular vegetable, next to the mighty tomato (beans are actually a legume, providing nitrogen through a bacterium on their roots). There are many types of beans to choose from including snap-bush green beans, snap-pole green beans, bush yellow, lima beans, and dried and shell beans. In this article I am going to discuss the two most common, bush and pole type green beans.

Bush beans stand erect and are good yielders. They do not need a support system like pole beans. Green bush beans were formerly called “string beans” because fiber developed along the seams of the pods. Genetic selection by plant breeders have reduced these fibers, and green beans are now referred to as “snap beans.”

For planning information, beans will yield about 50 quarts per 100 feet of row. Approximately eight ounces of bean seed will cover a 100-foot row.

Beans grow best in rich, loose high organic matter soil. It is best to add compost and till into the soil before planting. This is the best advice for heavy clay-type soils. Beans need well drained soil due to disease issues.

Healthy bean plants should produce their own nitrogen, but a fertilizer blend such as 5-10-10 will work for beans at a rate of 3 to 4 pounds for every 100 square feet of soil surface. Be careful not to use too much nitrogen, which can cause lots or stem and leaf growth and poor bean development.

Beans are a warm weather crop, and are sensitive to cold temperatures and frost. You can start planting after May 12th (usually around Mother’s Day). Make sure you read the maturity dates and directions on seed packages, because most pole type beans require a longer growing season. Plant beans in succession every 2 to 4 weeks until early August for a continuous harvest.

They are many varieties to choose from when planting beans. Recommended bush type beans are: ‘Tender Crop’, ‘Provider’, ‘Top Crop’, ‘Roma II’, and ‘Derby’. Recommended pole bean varieties include: ‘Blue Lake’, ‘Kentucky Wonder’, ‘Romano’, and ‘Kentucky Blue’.

Plant bean seeds of all varieties one inch deep. Plant seeds of bush beans 2 to 4 inches apart in rows at least 18 to 24 inches apart. Plant seeds of pole beans 4 to 6 inches apart in rows 30 to 36 inches apart; or in hills (four to six seeds per hill) 30 inches apart, with 30 inches between rows.

Seeds of most varieties tend to crack and germinate poorly if the soil’s moisture content is too high. For this reason, never soak bean seed before planting. Instead water just after planting or plant right before a heavy rain.

Beans have shallow roots and frequent shallow cultivation and hoeing are necessary to control small weeds and grasses. Because bean plants have fairly weak root systems, deep, close cultivation injures the plant roots, delays harvest and reduces yields.

Keep beans evenly watered during germination and flowering to a depth of 4 to 6 inches. Even watering is very important during pod development. Water at the base of plants near the root system; overhead watering can spread diseases.

Prevention is the best solution to bean diseases. Common problems of bean plants include bean leaf beetles, bean mosaic diseases, and bacterial bean blight. Other diseases include anthracnose, rust, and white mold.

Bean leaf beetles can cause holes in the leaves and sometimes eat the pods. Harvest is not affected if less than twenty percent of foliage is eaten. Disease incidence can be reduced by planting disease resistant varieties in well-drained soil, not overwatering, rotating crops, providing good air circulation around plants, avoiding over-fertilization and controlling of weeds.

Green beans should be ready for harvest 45 to 60 days after planting, depending on the variety. Harvest when the pods are firm, crisp and fully elongated, but before the seed within the pod has developed significantly.

Pick beans after the dew is off the plants, and they are thoroughly dry. Picking beans from wet plants can spread bean bacterial blight, a disease that seriously damages the plants. Bean plant continues to form new flowers and produces more beans if pods are continually removed before the seeds mature.

Contact me at the Wood County WVU Extension Office (304)-424-1960 or e-mail me at jj.barrett@mail.wvu.edu with questions. Good Luck and until next time, Happy Gardening!