How to Grow Green Beans: Bush or Pole, in 8 Steps

Which type to plant, why beans hate transplanting, and the picking habit that keeps a plant cropping for weeks.

The steps

1. Bush or Pole. Bush: quick, all at once. Pole: slower, crops for weeks.
2. Sow Direct. Beans resent transplanting. Sow where they will grow.
3. Wait for Warm Soil. Cold soil rots the seed. Sow after the last frost.
4. Skip the Nitrogen. Beans make their own. Nitrogen gives leaf, not pods.
5. Support Pole Types. Put the frame up first. Roots hate later digging.
6. Water at Flowering. Dry spells drop the flowers. Steady water while podding.
7. Pick Young. Pick before seeds bulge. Older pods turn stringy.
8. Pick Every Other Day. Left pods stop the plant. Regular picking keeps it going.

Pro tip. Beans fix their own nitrogen, so a rich nitrogen feed gives you a huge leafy plant and almost no pods. Compost at planting is all they need.