Shell, Soup and Baking Beans

CULTURE Beans will grow well in any well-drained garden soil, but do best in a soil with pH above 6.0. After the last frost-free date, plant seeds no more than 1” deep and 2 to 3” apart in a row but do not thin. Beans may benefit from a source of soluble nitrogen (if your soil is low in nitrogen) during the first three weeks until nitrogen-fixing nodules develop, but do not apply nitrogen after this period. DARK- AND LIGHT-SEEDED BEANS: Dark-seeded beans are more resistant to rotting in cool soil than light- seeded beans. Beans need a minimum soil temperature of 65oF (18oC) to germinate well, otherwise rotting may occur. HARVEST: Pick when pods are small, before seeds fill the pods. Keep well picked so that plants continue to bear. DISEASES: Rotate on a 3-year cycle if disease is a problem. Do not cultivate or harvest when foliage is wet since anthracnose, bacterial blight, and rust diseases may be spread. Avoid watering the plants in the evening. INSECT PESTS: Use rotenone, or introduce the Pedio Wasp (Pediobus foveolatus) to give excellent biological control of Mexican bean beetles. SEED SAVERS: Isolate bean varieties a minimum of 25’ for home use. For pure seed an isolation distance of 100 to 150’ is required. PACKET: 2 oz or 57 g (about 130 to 232 seeds depending on variety) sows 20 to 33’.