Growing Beans - climbing, also Pole beans, Runner beans, Scarlet Runners

Phaseolus vulgaris, Phaseolus coccineus : Fabaceae / the pea or legume family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
      P P P P          

(Best months for growing Beans - climbing in Canada - Zone 6b Temperate Warm Summer regions)

  • P = Sow seed
  • Easy to grow. Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 16°C and 30°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 10 - 20 cm apart
  • Harvest in 9-11 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Sweetcorn, spinach, lettuce, summer savory, dill, carrots, brassicas, beets, radish, strawberry, cucumbers, zucchini, tagates minuta (wild marigold)
  • Avoid growing close to: Alliums (Chives, leek, garlic, onions), Florence fennel
  • A few young Scarlet Runners
  • Purple climbing beans

Grow beans up fences, trellis, sweet corn, trees. Almost anywhere can be 'vertically productive'.

Keep well watered and pick regularly to encourage new flowers. Watch out for snails, as they will eat through the stems near ground level, and will completely eat newly sprouted beans. If you have nice new beans plants one day, and none the next, then it is probably slugs or snails.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Beans - climbing

Use young in salads - blanch and cool. Will freeze well.

Your comments and tips

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18 May 24, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 5a Temperate Warm Summer climate)
In addition: Where large amounts of farmyard manure have been used, molybdenum deficiency is less likely.
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18 May 24, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 8a Mild Temperate climate)
I think everyone knows beans need Mycorrhizal fungi to grow well -- Mycorrhizal fungal filaments in the soil are truly extensions of root systems and are more effective in nutrient and water absorption than the roots themselves. More than 95 percent of terrestrial plant species form a symbiotic relationship with beneficial mycorrhizal fungi. Forest floor duff contains MF and can be easily added to your compost bin, or directly in the desired areas. ADDITIONALLY - beans need Molybdenum (compost banana peels are a good source of Molybdenum). Molybdenum-bearing enzymes are by far the most common bacterial catalysts for breaking the chemical bond in atmospheric molecular nitrogen in the process of biological nitrogen fixation. - In legumes such as clovers, lucerne, beans and peas, molybdenum serves two functions. The plant needs it to break down any nitrates taken up from the soil—in the same way as non-legumes use molybdenum. And it helps in the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by the root nodule bacteria. Legumes need more molybdenum to fix nitrogen than to utilise nitrates. --- The take away --- don't forget the forest floor duff and banana peels around your beans.
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12 Nov 13, Georgia (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
just wondering, what pests and diseases climbing beans are prone to?
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09 Aug 12, (Canada - Zone 5a Temperate Warm Summer climate)
My Runner Beans look beautiful. Sadly I have only had a few beans and the little ones are withering away or are just little tiny stalks. The leaves have holes in them. I have captured two insects. One looking like an elongated Ladybug is brownish with black Spots and the other a reddish brown with spots. One almost triangular shaped beetle.hard as nails, brown on top and green underneath. Could it be humming birds eating the flowers? Any help with this would be appreciated. I live in Ontario Canada
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I put my beans in a wet paper towel then put the paper towel in a baggie. I store them under the kitchen sink for a few days and they sprout. Then I take them out and plant them. This has worked well for me. I don’t plant the ones that do not sprout.

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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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