How to plant a bean plant
22.01.2024 - 21:21
/ backyardgardener.com
/ Frederick Leeth
These were certainly known to the Ancient Egyptians and are probably natives of northern and western Asia. They are extremely hardy.
Cultivation
A good rich loam suits these beans, though they are not difficult to grow on any soil. This crop may well follow cabbages and potatoes, or manure may be dug in sparingly. A certain amount of chemical fertilizer may be added as follows: 84g (3oz) per sq m (sq yd) of superphosphate and 28g (1oz) per sq m (sq yd) of sulfate of potash. These beans prefer a neutral or alkaline soil to one which is acid.
In January or February, seed may be sown in boxes or individual pots and started under glass. In April the young plants are set out and the crop becomes mature in June. Another method is to plant outdoors in April for the maid summer crop or a May sowing becomes ready in September. At one time autumn sowing was popular, but a number of bad winters in succession has made this method unpopular.
In sowing, the seeds are spaced at 16cm (6in) intervals in rows 60cm (2ft) apart. The beans may be put 4cm (1in) deep or, on clay soil, be placed on the surface and soil ridged up to cover them. When the first bean pods are showing the tip of the main shoot should be broken off and removed.
Named kinds include: ‘Green Windsor’, ‘Saville Longpod’, ‘Early Longpod’, ‘Masterpiece’, ‘Green Longpod’, ‘Bun-yard’s Exhibition’ and ‘Harlington White.’
The difference between the French bean and the haricot bean is merely that in the former the pod containing immature seeds is eaten, while the haricots are the ripe seeds without the pods. The details of cultivation are the same for both French and haricot forms of the bean.
The runner bean is more often grown than the French, on the continent the reverse is