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Vegetables · annual
Bean (bush, pole, green, runner) from seed
Phaseolus vulgaris · also searched as green beans, bush beans, pole beans, runner beans, snap beans, bean seeds
- Germination temperature
- 75 to 85°F (24 to 29°C)
- Minimum soil temperature
- 60°F (16°C)
- Sowing depth
- 1 to 1½ in (25 to 38 mm)
- Days to germinate
- 6 to 14 days
- Light
- Cover the seed; darkness helps
- Before sowing
- Nothing needed
- Sow outdoors
- 0 to 2 weeks after the last frost
- Spacing
- 6 in (15 cm) for bush beans
Your dates from your last frost Seed not coming up?
Sowing
Beans hate cold soil. Sow direct a week or two after the last frost, when the soil is at least 55°F (13°C) per CSU. Pole and runner beans need a support in place before sowing.
Care and transplanting
Water at the base in dry spells and keep the bed weeded. Bush beans crop in a burst, so sow again every few weeks. Beans fix their own nitrogen; skip heavy feeding.
Problems
Seed that does not come up has rotted in cold, wet soil or been eaten by seed-corn maggots; resow. Yellow or curling leaves point to drought, heat, aphids or too much nitrogen. Brown leaf edges are often sun scorch or dry soil.
Saving seed
Leave pods on the plant until they rattle and are fully dry, shell and dry the seed another week. Beans mostly self-pollinate, so varieties stay true.