BEANS 

We specialize in heirloom vegetable, flower, and herb seeds. Look here for vegetables bred in a day when taste was the primary selecting criteria. This is the place to go if you want to grow the best tomatoes you ever tasted!

Select the type of bean you wish to view. Snap Bush Beans Snap Pole Beans Lima (Butter) Beans Soup, Shell, and Baked Beans Specialty Beans BUSH 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. POLE BEANS CULTURE: Pole beans usually bear later than bush beans and generally give higher yields. Poles or other means of support should be at least 8' high. Sow 6 to 8 seeds, 1" deep around the base of each pole. Corn plants may be used as bean poles. We recommend using 'Hickory King' corn. Note: Only certain varieties of beans are shade tolerant and adapted to growing in corn. PACKET: 2 oz or 57 g, unless stated (about 125 to 225 seeds depending on variety, average 150 seeds) sows 25 to 45 poles. INSECT PESTS: Identifying and addressing any nutrient imbalances in the soil will usually keep insects under control in beans. 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'. 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.