Advice for First Time Pole Bean Grower
 

This year I wanted to try growing some pole beans. Never having grown any beans before at all, I was hoping I could get some good tips here. I already know I need something for them to climb, and that's already in place. I was mainly wondering about such things as how much fertilizer is needed and what sort of pests to expect, as well as best ways to stop said pests. Anyone have any good advice for me?

You'll love growing pole beans! Don't plant until the soil is good & warm - they rot in cold wet soil. Don't plant too deep either. I use the innoculant for a new patch & just sprinkle it in as I sow. I have always just used compost but this year am using my compost amended with some dried molasses/alfalfa cubes in all my beds - we'll see. Keep them watered. They grow better & produce more if well watered. Keep them picked - hunt down those beans & your production will be better.
For pests I use the pyrethrin concentrate & dilute & spray.
I love beans - pole beans, half runners, bush beans

I just use compost and inoculant as well. I don't feed them the rest of the season.

The only pests I really have trouble with on my beans are Japanese Beetles. I hate to say it but the only thing that worked for me was Sevin. I don't like using strong chemicals like that but one application did work for me.

Make sure you allow enough space between the vines so they get a decent amount of sun. I allow 4-6 inches between plants.

I think you'll like pole beans. I think they have more flavor than bush beans and it's so nice to only have to plant once. If you wanted a concentrated picking to can a bunch of beans at once, I'd say go with a bush variety, but for fresh eating, I really prefer pole beans. Enjoy!

japanese beetles are my worst problem and they never bothered my pole beans until i started to grow ky wonder. they love that variety and while it attracts the jb the other varieties are not eaten that much, they really really like kw. kw is so aggressive that the jb don't seem to hurt the plants or production. i just ignore the jb (i shake the trellis and they fly off but no doubts return) since unless you spray with toxins it's pretty hard to control them. hand picking is not practical unless you have 1 plant. warm soil, water often once they start bean production, pick often too, all good advice. i spray with neptune's harvest every 2 weeks for fertilization.

tom

I agree with Tom about picking often. If you keep picking, they'll keep flowering and producing. If you stop picking, the plants shut down.

[quote=shelleybean;128427]I agree with Tom about picking often. If you keep picking, they'll keep flowering and producing. If you stop picking, the plants shut down.[/quote]

My dad always said that as well, that he kept them well picked so they would keep bearing. Thanks for the advice all! Anyone have any other type of insect problem besides Japanese Beetles? In SC, bugs come in droves and armies.

What I learned from beans is you can plant them about 8" apart and plant new seeds every 2 weeks during the growing season so you will have a ample supply.

It's my first year with pole beans, too. I have scarlet runners, blue lake green beans, yellow wax beans, and purple pod beans.

At this point, over 50% have germinated, and they're about 3-5" tall now. Some of the leaves on the shorter ones look very chewed up - those aren't growing well. I'm also neeming the heck out of these - the aphid overflow from poopy neighbor is right next to my beans. :(

I want to have actual beans, not just the bean pods. Should I wait until the end of the season to harvest those? I don't want my plants to stop producing because I'm waiting for my first beans to be ready.

[quote=gallaure;128458]It's my first year with pole beans, too. I have scarlet runners, blue lake green beans, yellow wax beans, and purple pod beans.

At this point, over 50% have germinated, and they're about 3-5" tall now. Some of the leaves on the shorter ones look very chewed up - those aren't growing well. I'm also neeming the heck out of these - the aphid overflow from poopy neighbor is right next to my beans. :(

I want to have actual beans, not just the bean pods. Should I wait until the end of the season to harvest those? I don't want my plants to stop producing because I'm waiting for my first beans to be ready.[/quote]

Same here. I had also been wondering about that. From some things my dad said, I think even with pretty aggressive picking, you will find some full beans you missed here and there.

[quote=gallaure;128458]
At this point, over 50% have germinated, and they're about 3-5" tall now. Some of the leaves on the shorter ones look very chewed up - those aren't growing well. I'm also neeming the heck out of these - the aphid overflow from poopy neighbor is right next to my beans. :(

[/quote]

looks like my advice to get a backpack sprayer and spray roundup 30' into that jungle is falling on deaf ears. poopy neighbors need to be wiped.

tom

[QUOTE=tjg911;128657]looks like my advice to get a backpack sprayer and spray roundup 30' into that jungle is falling on deaf ears. poopy neighbors need to be wiped.

tom[/QUOTE]

There are also other things to be concerned about, namely legality and retribution. Not deaf. Letting the authorities and lacewings handle the situation.

Same experience here with Japanes Beetles being the only significant pest. Of my pole beans, they liked Blue Lake, Kentucky Blue, Neckargold, Fortex, and Brown-Speckled Greasy Beans but pretty much left Uncle Steve's Italian Pole Bean alone. Go figure.

Good warm soil and keeping them picked are good rules of thumb. Gallaure, are you wanting to get "shelly"beans (bean seeds are large but still tender) or dry beans (bean seed is hard and dry)? If you want the shelly bean, then you should be okay with respect to production continuing. If you're going for dry beans, yeah, production will probably come to a halt.

Once the soil has warmed up I put down some newspaper and straw mulch down the row to preserve moisture (we often go for weeks without rain in mid summer).

I don't fertilize, but I do get my soil in pretty good shape with amendments in the fall and spring.