Bush beans are just that, beans that grow on a bush, and if you know how and when to plant them you will get masses of beans right through summer.
The best time to plant bush beans is when the soil has started to warm up, so in cool to temperate climates this means from late spring to early summer.
If you plant Bush Beans at this time they will quickly spring into growth and outperform those planted while it is still cold.
You can stagger planting, a few plants every 3 weeks from late spring to mid summer, this way your harvest season will be even longer.
And forget planting bush bean seedlings, these easy care plants grow best from seed, and its cheaper as well.
Germination takes around 1 week, and if you protect the young seedlings from slugs and snails you will soon have strong healthy plants.
How to plant bush bean seeds.
- Prepare the soil early, around mid spring.
- Turn the soil over well, removing any weeds.
- Add some well rotted cow manure and some mushroom compost.
- A little blood and bone will also help.
- Once the weather warms plant the seeds
- The seeds need to be planted at around 10cm apart and around 3 cm deep.
- The seeds need to kept moist, however not wet.
- Once the seeds geminate you may want to put in some stakes to support them.
- Mulch around the beans to maintain moisture and water regularly through the growing period.
Bush Bean varieties worth looking for include
- Blue Lake – Tender, sweet and heavy cropping.
- Gourmets Delight – Avery good stringless green bean.
- Roc D Or – A yellow French variety.
- Bountiful Butter – Golden yellow beans and a heavy cropping type.
- Royal Burgundy – Red to purple stringless variety.
- Snapbean – A dwarf stringless variety
Bush bean seeds are readily available for sale online and from most nurseries.