Growing beans is easy and promising. Learn how to grow runner or bush beans in your garden and properly care for them so you can enjoy a bountiful harvest with our guide.
How can I grow beans in the garden?
To grow beans, you should first prepare the bed, then sow the beans, water regularly and possibly pile up bush beans. Choose between bush or runner beans and plant them in a sunny, wind-protected location after the ice saints.
Bush beans or runner beans?
First of all, you should be clear about whether you want to grow bush or pole beans. Runner beans require climbing aids and therefore require a little more preparation; The green tendrils can visually enrich bare walls or beds with low plants.
Location and planting time for beans
Beans like it warm, especially for germination. Therefore, you should plant them in a sunny, wind-protected location. If you would like to sow your beans directly outdoors, you should wait until after the Ice Saints. Otherwise, you can grow the beans at home on the windowsill or in the greenhouse and thus prematurely harvest.
Bean Growing Guide
- Beans
- Water
- Climbing aid for runner beans
- Hoe
- Watering can or hose for watering
1. Preparing the bed
Both runner, bush and field beans are low feeders, which means they don't need a lot of nutrients. The bed should therefore not be fertilized before sowing.
Instead, loosen the soil a little with a hoe and draw straight rows either by eye or using a rope stretched between two sticks or a long pole.
If you are growing runner beans, attach your climbing aids now (€7.00 on Amazon).
2. Sowing beans
The ideal planting distance varies depending on the bean variety. It is usually between 5 and 15cm. Bush beans need a little more space than pole beans because they grow wider.
Beans can also be sown in the nest in a group. Five to eight beans are sown in a circle. Sowing in a circle is particularly useful for runner beans: insert a stake into the middle of the circle and pull ropes from each bean upwards towards the stake.
Press the beans one to three centimeters deep into the soil and close the holes.
3. Pouring
Now water your seeds well. Make sure that the bed never completely dries out, especially during the germination phase.
4. Pile up bush beans
Bush beans can be piled up from a size of around 15cm to give them more stability. Find out more here.
In this video you will learn more about successfully growing beans in the garden:
Tip
To protect the beans from pest infestation, it makes sense to grow them in mixed culture. Get to know more good neighbors for beans here.