Green beans (bush)
Vegetable · warm season · also called snap bean, string bean, french bean
When to plant
- Sow seeds outdoors about 1 week after your average last spring frost.
- Ready to harvest about 55 days after planting.
- Sow again every 3 weeks for a steady harvest.
Soil must be above 60°F or seeds rot.
Frost dates depend on where you live. Enter your ZIP code to get exact dates.
Dates by zone: 3a 3b 4a 4b 5a 5b 6a 6b 7a 7b 8a 8b 9a 9b 10a 10b
Growing basics
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ hours)
- Spacing
- 4–6 in
- Soil temperature
- At least 60°F
- Time to harvest
- About 55 days
- Containers
- At least 2 gallons
- Plant family
- Bean and pea family (legumes)
- Harvest per plant
- About 0.25 lb
- Seeds keep
- About 3 years
Companions
Good neighbors: Sweet corn, Winter squash, Cucumber, Carrot, Summer savory
Keep apart: the onion family (alliums). Onions and garlic can stunt beans and peas.
Keep apart: Horseradish. Horseradish spreads aggressively. Give it its own spot.
Keep apart: Mint. Mint spreads aggressively into neighbors. Keep it in a pot.
Keep apart: Fennel (bulb). Fennel slows the growth of most garden plants. Grow it on its own.
Keep apart: Sunflower. Sunflowers release compounds that can slow beans.
Keep apart: Sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke). Sunchokes spread aggressively and shade neighbors.
Varieties to try
- Contender 50 days: early, heat-tolerant
- Provider 50 days: reliable in cool soil
- Royal Burgundy 55 days: purple pods, easy to see
- Blue Lake 274 58 days: classic bush bean
Pests and problems
Grow it well
Tips
- Pick beans, zucchini, and cucumbers often. These plants keep making more as long as you keep picking. Let one fruit get big and seedy, and the plant slows down. Check every day or two in summer.
- Sow a little every 2 to 3 weeks. Lettuce, radishes, bush beans, carrots, and cilantro all come ready at once. Sow a short row every few weeks for a steady harvest instead of one big glut.
- All leaves and no fruit? Go easy on fertilizer. Tomatoes, peppers, beans, and squash fed too much nitrogen grow big and leafy but set little fruit. Skip lawn fertilizer and other high-nitrogen feeds, and use a balanced one sparingly.
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