Growing Beans

Learn how to grow beans from seed with a clear plan for planting, support, care, problem-solving, and harvest.
Growing Beans is a practical season-long guide for home growers who want tender green beans, shell beans, dry beans for storage, or healthy seed for the next planting. It covers bush beans, pole beans, runner beans, snap beans, string beans, shelling beans, and dry beans in garden rows, raised beds, and containers.
The book answers the questions gardeners ask most often: When should bean seeds be planted? What soil temperature, sowing depth, and spacing support even emergence? Are bush beans or pole beans better for the available space? What kind of trellis do climbing beans need? How much water and fertilizer should plants receive? Why are leaves turning yellow, flowers dropping, or pods failing to set? When are green, shelling, and dry beans ready to harvest?
Inside, you will learn how to:
• choose varieties for short seasons, hot summers, humid conditions, windy sites, patios, and small gardens;
• prepare well-drained soil and sow beans at the correct time, depth, and spacing;
• build supports for pole beans and runner beans before vines become tangled;
• manage watering, mulch, weeds, and nitrogen without encouraging excessive leafy growth;
• grow beans in containers while controlling drainage, root-zone heat, moisture, and stability;
• identify common bean pests, diseases, nutrient disorders, weather stress, yellow leaves, flower drop, and poor pod set;
• harvest green beans, shelling beans, and dry beans at the correct stage, then dry and save healthy seed.
11 practical illustrations clarify growth habits, direct sowing, soil and drainage, support systems, watering, root nodules, container planting, harvest stages, pest symptoms, disease symptoms, and seed selection.
Tables, seasonal checklists, and diagnostic guides help readers compare visible signs, identify likely causes, and choose an appropriate response before changing the care routine.
For beginners and practical home growers, Growing Beans provides a reliable reference from the first sowing decision to the final harvest and seed-saving stage.