The cultivation of beans is worthwhile because the harvest is productive and the plants require comparatively little care. However, you need to pay attention to a few special features so that the seeds germinate successfully and do not start to rot.
15cm distance is sufficient when sowing beans
Demands on soil and location
French beans and pole beans have no special requirements when it comes to garden conditions. They thrive on light to medium-heavy substrates that are humus and deeply loosened. A neutral pH and warm and sunny conditions improve growth. In contrast to the larger relatives, bush beans also grow in semi-shade.
Everything about sowing
Since the beans need warmth, you should not plant them before May. Sowing in beds is possible from May 10th. If late frost threatens, cover the seed rows with fleece. Subsequent sowing is recommended until July 10th. If the weather is favourable, specimens sown in the second half of July will give good yields until mid-October.
How to do it right:
- Enrich substrate with compost
- Form rows three inches deep
- pay attention to a row spacing of 40 centimetres
- Place two bean seeds next to each other every 15 centimetres
- remove the weaker seedling if both seeds sprout
preculture
From the beginning of April, the seeds of early varieties can be grown in small plastic pots on the windowsill. There is space for four to five specimens per container. Frost-free conditions should prevail in the cold frame or greenhouse. If there is a risk of frost, bring the planters indoors overnight.
maintenance
Press the earth lightly. Watering is often not necessary in May because the substrate moisture is sufficient. Too much water quickly causes the seed to rot. For later sowings between June and July, water the bed when the weather conditions are exceptionally dry. Before flowering, you should loosen the soil twice.
tips
Yellow-podded varieties turn out to be slightly more demanding than green specimens. Here you need to put a little more attention to the care measures.
mixed cultures
Since bean plants take a long time to reach their full height, you can use the space during this phase for other purposes. Sow radishes in the bed. They are ready to harvest before the beans take up the entire area. Lettuce, cucumber and celery are ideal planting partners for mixed cultures. Nasturtium and savory protect the neighbors from pests. On the other hand, you should avoid leeks and onions as well as species from the same plant family.
soil improvement
Beans are suitable as a follow-up crop for heavy-consuming vegetables because they improve the soil over the long term. Like all legumes, nodule bacteria, which live on the plant roots in symbiosis with the useful plants, bind atmospheric nitrogen and release it to the plant. Therefore, let the harvested specimens rot on the bed so that the nutrients are fed into the soil.