Hardly sown – the first beans are already ready to harvest. Most bean varieties take around 8 to 10 weeks to produce their first harvest. Early varieties such as the bush bean “Saxa” are in a hurry - the first tender beans are ready to harvest after just 6 weeks.
When and how should you harvest beans?
Beans are picked carefully by hand when the pods are turgid and the germs are not yet visible. The first harvest begins in July, then re-picking every two to three days to increase yield and promote new growth.
Harvest time
The first bean harvest begins in July. If you decide to sow beans a second time, you can even harvest until October. You can tell whether your bush beans, runner beans or runner beans are ripe by touching and breaking the bean pods.
This is how the harvest works
Beans are carefully picked by hand. The young fruits are harvested before the germs push through the pod. You can pick every two to three days.
Frequent picking promotes the formation of new shoots and increases yields. If you want to use the beans as dry beans, let them ripen.
Increase yield
Due to their short growing period, beans can be sown until the end of July. This means you can grow them twice in a row in the same place or use a bed that was harvested early, such as early potatoes, again in the same year.
Winning seeds
If you want to get seeds from your harvest, you let some beans fully ripen. If a white color appears, remove the beans and hang them in a warm, dry place. Remove the kernels from the dry pods and place them next to each other to dry.
Store beans
The fresh, tender beans taste best. Under no circumstances should they be consumed raw. Raw beans are poisonous. The legumes can be safely consumed when cooked.
But usually not all the beans can be used at once. Their shelf life can be extended by boiling, freezing and drying. The best way to preserve flavor and vitamins is to freeze. The beans are blanched briefly before freezing.
What happens to the plant?
If the plant has been spared from diseases and pests, the herb of the plant goes into the compost. The roots can remain in the soil until it is dug up in autumn and continue to enrich it with nitrogen.
Tips & Tricks
Beans can also be cut off the vines with sharp scissors. But please do so so that shoots and flowers are not injured.