Growing Beans in the Garden
5 Tips for How to Grow Beans
Beans are a warm-season legume grown for their tender pods. Growing beans in the garden is simple. They are prolific and easy to grow, and with so many varieties available, beans are a staple in most gardens. Learn how to grow beans and add them to your garden. Keep reading for extra tips if you are growing beans in the low desert of Arizona.
1. Understand the different types of beans:
Bush beans grow lower to the ground and yield one larger crop all at once, followed by a smaller harvest a couple of weeks later. Planting bush beans every two weeks will ensure a continuous supply. Try varieties like dragon tongue and gold rush, which are not readily available in supermarkets.
Pole beans are grown on a trellis, and one planting provides a steady yield all season. Look for stringless varieties like Kentucky wonder and rattlesnake.
Yardlong beans tolerate heat and humidity better than snap bean varieties. Try varieties such as asparagus beans, snake beans or Chinese long beans. These are very fun to grow, kids love seeing how long the beans get in the garden. Yard-long beans and tepary beans require warmer growing conditions than pole and bush beans and have different planting dates. Other types of beans you can grow include black-eyed peas and borlotti beans.
This article shares more information about how and when to grow asparagus beans.
2. Learn how to plant beans correctly
- Bean seeds do best when sown directly into the soil.
- Plant seeds 1 inch deep, and space them 2 inches apart.
- Growing beans should sprout in 5 to 10 days.
- Like many other garden plants, beans need plenty of sun to grow properly.
- Keep soil moist and well-drained for happy beans.
3. Plant beans at the right time
Beans need warm soil to sprout and grow well. Begin planting in the spring after last spring frost. Seeds will germinate more quickly in soil temperatures of 70°F – 90°F (21°C – 32°C). Succession plant bean seeds every two weeks throughout the growing season for a fresh supply of beans all season long. Learn more about succession planting in this guide.
When to plant beans in Arizona
- Plant snap beans (bush and pole type) from March 15 through April and again from August through September.
- Lima beans can be planted from March 15 through April and July- August.
- Plant yardlong beans from March 15 through July.
- Pinto and tepary beans can be planted in March and with the monsoons in July – August.
4. Plant companion plants for beans
Good companion plants for growing beans include carrots, cauliflower, marigolds, corn and celery.
5. Harvest beans at the right time
Harvest beans when the pods are firm and about the diameter of a pencil. Pick beans when young for the best flavor. Harvest beans often to encourage production. As beans mature, they lose flavor, and the pods bulge with seeds. This signals the plant to stop producing.
Most beans do not store well; once picked, use them as soon as possible. If not using them right away, store them in the fridge. Beans are delicious raw (when picked young) or cooked. They are high in vitamins A, B, and C, as well as calcium and iron.
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Hi Angela,
I planted bush beans couple months ago. They started growing to about 3-4 inches tall and then started dying. Is it a watering issue? I’m on a drip system, 1gph drip line. How deep does my soil need to be (if it is a drainage issue). It’s been two years like this, it’s frustrating. I tried growing them in different area of the garden, same issue. Thank you for your advice.
Where are you located? It may be a timing issue. Here in the low desert, we have an early spring planting of beans and a fall planting, but summer’s heat is too much for them.
Yori Cahui yardlong finally decided to bloom. this is a first. Usually they’re in bloom most of the summer (Zone 9 A, San Pedro valley) despite harsh winds. This year was odd, tho, and most didn’t start to vine till after the first monsoon rain. White Tepary are giving a lot of dry beans now, and starting to bloom again. Just planted the bush beans, and tomorrow will try, again, to get scarlet runners to produce. They like the cool weather, and seem to thrive in it, but if frosts are too hard, erk. Some frost, no problem and many of the roots resprout in late spring.
Do runner beans grow in the low desert?
I have not had good luck with them.
Hi Angela!
Is this the same advice for a black or pinto bean? Since they are usually used as a dry bean, do I ever pick the beans as they grow in and cook them like a green bean, or do I leave it alone in its entirety and let the whole plant dry out? (I’m also in Phoenix, AZ if that helps at all)
Thanks!!
Right, you leave dry beans on the plant until they have dried out.
What are good fertilizers for beans? Mine are yellowing.
Also, other gardens will sprout beans but then they die at root level with little root system. Thoughts??
HELP!! I live in Arizona, low desert and VERY HOT, zone 9b – 10ab and my water from the hose/spiket needs to run full blast for about 5 mins before it starts to cool off, even in my house (which comes out pretty warm, not boiling like outdoors) I have to run it for awhile to get it cooled off, NO JOKE! It is 110 to 120 during July and August for weeks at a time. I have no idea how to have a drip line when my water comes out boiling hot!! Angela, how in the world do you have a drip line without burning your plants roots??? Thank you. I hope to hear from you soon.
Water in the morning – this can help, the water temps are usually lower then.
I’m building a raised bed, 10 in high x 18″ x 10′. I started by (almost) killing Bermuda grass with vinegar and salt . covered with layers of cardboard, soaked, burlap and cloth blanket, soaked, added some small split logs around edge soaked. I have some mostly dead rosemary stems with lots of leaves. can I use them as organic matter as the next layer?
Sure.