Gardening Guide-tips on Growing Backyard Green Beans

Gardening Guide-Tips on Growing Backyard Green Beans

One of my greatest joys in life is walking into the garden and picking a bucketful of beautiful, fresh green beans. Then taking them directly to a pot of boiling water in the kitchen. Nothing like it. Three days later, I can do it again. And, so can you with these tips.

First, you need to decide what to plant. The two main choices are bush beans or pole beans. I prefer pole beans because they are easier to pick, have better flavor and have less problems from pests and disease.

Pole beans, of course, require something to climb on and, therefore, tend to take up space.

But, if you think limited space prevents you from having pole beans, guess again. You can have enough beans for a family of four in a six square foot area.

A method I use is to take three six foot long wooden poles (don't use metal) and place them in a tripod arrangement, tying them together at the top. It only takes about a three foot area, so you can have two of them in a six foot plot.

Plant the beans indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost, in peat pots. Do not use pots that require you to remove the plant from the pot to transplant (plastic). The peat pots can be planted directly in the garden without disturbing the roots.

Prepare the soil by adding compost (I prefer well-aged manure) as soon as you can work the soil in the spring. Most important! Plant your beans in a spot that gets at least 6-8 hours of direct sun each day. Beans love the sun.

As the beans send out long shoots, train them to climb the poles, if they do not do it own their own (generally, they will). Keep them watered but not soaked. Fertilize once when the plants start climbing the poles.

There are many varieties that thrive in practically any summer climate, as long as you have about six weeks of over 70 degree days. I like the "bluelake" for it's ease of growth, good flavor and high yield.

Here's a recipe I like for cooking green beans. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Snap the beans (do not cook whole) and add them to the pot. Add one slice of bacon, salt and pepper to taste and one whole, medium size onion.

Now here's the secret. Cook the beans until the water is almost gone; down to about 2 inches. Be VERY careful that the beans do NOT get completely dry. They will burn very fast and be ruined. When ready, the beans should be tender and have a dark green color. They should NOT be bright green like canned beans (ugggh!). This should take from one to one and a half hours, depending on the number of beans and size of the pot.

So, give it a try this year. Then when you smell those fresh beans that you grew, cooking in the kitchen, you, too, will experience one of the great joys of life.

You may find more gardening information at www.gudvalue.com