What Are Bush Beans?
Bush beans are one of the most practical things to grow in a vegetable garden. They grow very quickly, fill in empty spaces in your raised beds, require little tending, thrive in most climates, and produce large quantities for harvest. Just a couple months from seeding, you'll be able to start harvesting delicious fresh beans.
Bush beans, as their name suggests, grow in a compact, bush-like manner and do not get very tall. You can choose between snap beans (which are eaten pod and all, like string beans or green beans) and shell beans (which are eaten once the seeds have been removed from the pod).
Bush Beans vs Pole Beans
Beans varieties grow in two different ways: bush and pole.
Pole beans have a more upright growth habit than bush beans (they can grow upwards of 6 feet tall), meaning they need some type of vertical support to help them grow. Pole beans take a bit longer to produce fruits than bush beans, but once they do start producing, you'll get a slow but continuous production of fruits. They'll basically keep going until it's too hot for fruit to form or until frost kills the plant.
Bush beans, in contrast, do not require a support structure to climb and will produce all at once in one big go. You might get a few fruits after the first round, but you shouldn't expect another large harvest.
You're likely to get only about a third as many beans with bush varieties than you would with pole beans. Even so, farmers tend to grow bush beans for the convenience of harvesting their crop and being able to remove the plant from their fields quickly.
Between the two, I honestly prefer the flavor of pole beans. I also like being able to pop out to the garden and grab some fresh pods to enjoy instead of harvesting a huge load of bush beans at once. That being said, you can't really beat the convenience of growing bush beans.
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The Best Bush Beans Varieties to Grow
I can't really answer this without dipping heavily into opinion territory. There are just so many bush beans types to choose from! Green beans started in South America, were brought over to Europe, and eventually made their way to the States. During that time, different varieties were being developed, including fancy French filet beans and Italian beans. When colonists returned to Europe, they brought with them beans that had been developed in North America. And during that whole time period, other beans were originating in Africa and Asia. There's such a rich history of beans being cultivated in many different cultures.
One popular type is the valor bean, which comes in purple or light green varieties and tastes so sweet and delicious. For beauty, check out dragon's tongue, which produces off-white pods with purple streaks. If you're looking for a dry bean, you can't go wrong with a type called dapple gray or plain old black beans.
There are so many fun varieties out there, including heirlooms, so I recommend buying lots of different ones and seeing which you prefer! Just make sure you're buying organic, non-GMO seeds from a trusted source.
Where to Plant Bush Beans
I like to grow bush beans along the edges of my raised garden beds. I let them flop over the sides when they're heavy with fruit, and the effect is quite beautiful. Planting this way also prevents the bush bean plants from shading other vegetables that are planted in the interior of the garden bed.
If you don't have a raised-bed garden set up, you can also grow bush beans in a container. Look for a container that's at least 18 inches across and 12 inches deep so you can grow several plants. Mix some compost in with your potting soil.
Make sure you pick a spot that receives at least six to eight hours of full sun per day. These plants need a lot of light to help them form fruits.
When to Grow Bush Beans
Most bean varieties do best during the warm season, when temperatures are between 65°F and 85°F. When I lived in Chicago, I grew bush beans over the summer once my leafy greens started bolting and freed up space in my garden beds. If you live somewhere warmer, you'll probably do better growing bush bean plants in the late spring and then planting another round in the fall.
Beans are not frost tolerant and should only be planted once all threat of frost has passed in the spring.
The Best Bush Beans Companion Plants
Because bush beans are so compact and stay low, they're perfect companions for cucumbers or tomatoes that need to vine up your trellises or plants like peppers that will grow tall. Bush beans fix nitrogen into the soil, making them so beneficial to the health of your garden overall, and especially your leafy greens.
How to Plant Bush Beans Seeds
Planting a bean seed is perhaps one of the easiest things you can do in the kitchen garden. The seeds are large and easy to handle (and easy to see, so there's no wondering whether you've already sown a seed in that hole or not). In just a few days, you'll see little green sprouts pop their heads out of the soil!
Beans have tender roots that don't always handle transplanting well, so it's best to sow seeds directly in the soil where they will grow.
Before planting dry bean seeds, soak them in water overnight (no more than 10 to 12 hours) to soften their protective seed coat and ease sprouting.
In addition to preparing your bush beans seeds, it's also a good idea to prepare your soil before planting. Add some extra compost and some mycorrhizae, which will help speed up germination and aid your bush beans in pulling nutrients from the soil to grow faster and bigger.
When sowing bean seeds, use a dibber to poke holes about one inch deep in your garden. (If you don't have a dibber, you can just use your fingers to push each seed into the soil.) Plant bush beans four to six inches apart, or about one every hand length. This means you should be able to grow at least four bush beans per square foot of garden space.
Cover with loose soil and water them in until the top couple inches of soil are damp.
Seeds should germinate within 10 days.
Since bush beans produce all at once, I recommend coming back and sowing more bush beans seeds every two weeks for a continuous supply.
The Best Type of Support for Bush Beans
You don't need a trellis for bush beans, but you do need to provide some support.
If bush beans are growing over the side of a raised bed, you can allow them to cascade over naturally from the weight of the beans. What you don't want to have happen is for the plant to flop over on the soil and create a nice little bridge for pests—you might as well send a dinner invite to every hungry slug in the area!
You can certainly stake your bush bean plants individually by using stakes and some twine to hold the plant upright. Another option is to create a small Florida weave by putting two stakes on either end of your row of beans and running twine back and forth between the stakes (hold the twine in place by adding screws along the stakes).
But what I've found to be the best way to support bush beans is a simple practice called hilling. All you have to do is push a bit of organic compost around the base of the plant to form a mound. This gives the plants extra support as they grow and encourages them to produce better.
How to Care for a Growing Bush Beans Plant
With bush beans, the most important tending task to keep the plants growing and producing is regular watering. Keeping the plants watered is especially important in the first three to four weeks after planting. You never want to let the soil completely dry out before the seeds have germinated. Once the plant is established in your garden, it'll require less maintenance.
Give Bush Beans 1 Inch of Water a Week
Your plants will need at least an inch of water per week, so if you're not getting that amount of rain, make sure you hand water or install some type of irrigation system. (Drip irrigation is a great way to give bush beans the deep watering they prefer.) Focus your water stream on the roots of the plant, not the leaves, to prevent mildew.
Provide Bush Beans with Shade on Hot Days
Beans love warmth, but anything over 95 degrees or so can cause their blossoms to drop (which means you won't get any fruit). Use row covers or shade cloth to protect your plants on particularly hot days.
Add Compost
Beans fix nitrogen into the soil, so you don't really need to worry about fertilizing these plants if you're growing them in healthy soil in your raised beds. I like to add a side dressing of compost halfway through their growing season to give them a little boost.
Prevent Pest Pressure
Check the underside of leaves regularly to catch garden pests early—that's where many pests love to hide, and by removing larger pests by hand before they do too much damage, you can avoid most issues. If you spot aphids, give your plants a hard rinse with a soaker hose. Prune away pest-affected or yellowed leaves. If you find yourself needing to prune more than a third of the plant, it might be best to remove the stressed-out plant from the garden and start fresh.
When to Harvest Bush Beans
Most bush bean varieties will be ready to harvest in just 55 to 65 days. Refer to the seed packet to know the anticipated days to maturity. Count forward from the date you sowed your beans seeds and mark the date on your calendar or set a phone reminder.
It's also a good idea to check how long the pods are expected to be at harvest time on the seed packet. Once your bean pods have reached the desired length (perhaps 6 inches long), it's time to harvest. This usually happens about one to two weeks after the flower has formed. (By the way, that flower is completely edible!)
If you're growing dried beans, you'll have to wait 80 to 90 days after planting. You'll know these beans are ready to harvest when the pods turn brown and you can rattle them. The seed pods will be easy to split open at this point, so you can easily remove the seeds (your dried beans).
How to Harvest Bush Beans
Use a clean pair of pruners, scissors, or snips to harvest your pods and avoid damaging the plant. Hold the pod away from the stem and cut just above the pod, leaving a little bit of stem attached.
It might happen that only three or four pods are the right size at the right time. Harvest the ones that are ready, clean them, and store them while you wait for the rest to be ready in a few days. Even though you only have a few worth harvesting now, picking the largest fruit encourages the plant to finish growing the others.
During the production period of your bush beans plant, make sure to harvest often.
Enjoy bush beans fresh or lightly blanch them, let them dry, and freeze them for later.
Remove bush bean plants from the garden by cutting them at their base and leaving the roots in the soil. If you didn't have major pest or disease issues, you can toss the plant into your compost pile.
Grow Your Own Bush Beans
If you’re looking for a low-maintenance plant that you can sneak into empty spaces in your garden and get great production from, beans are just the thing to keep you growing!
Thanks for helping me bring back the kitchen garden, one bean plant at a time!
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