Bean

Snap beans, also called green beans, are one of those must-have vegetables in the garden. They're easy to grow, are bothered by few pests, and if you choose a pole type, they take up hardly any square footage in the landscape. Or get creative and grow pole beans on fences or any other upright support

Beans come many colors, shapes, and sizes. Pods may be green, yellow, purple, or speckled. The plants range in size from 2 feet tall for bush types to pole types that may climb to 12 feet. A bean harvested when young, before the seeds fully develop, is called a snap bean. Once the seeds have reached full size, but pods have not turned brown, it's called a shelling bean. After the pod dries and seeds mature, it's called a dried bean.

Light:

Sun

Plant Type:

Vegetable

Plant Height:

24-30 inches tall (bush types); 8-12 feet tall (pole types)

Plant Width:

18-30 inches wide

Top Varieties

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'Blue Lake 274' bean

is a bush type that produces 6-inch-long green pods on bushy plants.
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'Derby' bean

produces tender, 7-inch-long pods that are easy to harvest. Plants resist disease well.
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'Jade' bean

offers slender, deep green pods that remain tender and productive in the heat of summer.
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'Roc d'Or' snap bean

is a yellow-pod type that's also called wax bean. 'Roc d'Or' bears 6-inch-long yellow pods 52 days after planting.
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'Royal Burgundy' bean

bears nutritious purple pods that turn green when cooked.
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'Romano' pole bean

forms a vigorous vine, which features pods that remain stringless even when large.
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'Scarlet Runner' bean

is named for its attractive orangy-red flowers produced on vining plants. It is a different species (Phaseolus coccineus) than snap beans. It is most often grown for its ornamental value, but it also produces tasty shelling beans.
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Garden Plans

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Fall Vegetable Garden Plan
Heritage Vegetable Garden
Summer Vegetable Garden Plan
Colorful Vegetable Garden Plan
Patio Vegetable Garden Plan
Planting Plans Inspired by the White House Kitchen Garden

Harvest Tips

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Harvest most snap beans when pods are 6-8 inches long, before pods and seeds reach full size, 45-55 days after planting. Specialty bush beans called filet beans should be harvested when pods are only 1/4-inch in diameter. Harvest shelling beans once seeds have reached full size, about 80 days after planting. Dried beans take approximately 100-120 days to reach maturity. Because dried pods may split open and drop beans to the ground, place a large pan or bucket under the plants when harvesting dried beans.

Propagation

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Seed