Is anyone else having difficulty getting production out of your pole beans this year?
I know they take (seemingly) forever to start production, but ours for the last two years have been zilch (last year) to puny (this year)! We get good vine, great flowers, but none, or nearly none on the beans! I've been gardening for over 50 years, and have never had this kind of problems with them. My bush beans are going great guns, and are planted in the same area of the garden that I had pole beans 2 years ago. Any ideas?
Jerry
Pole beans
I know you are a little south of us, but my pole beans never seem to start producing until almost Memorial Day...we usually have enough then for a generous portion to eat with dip for the backyard party....but from the other plant indications and little rain, things just seem to be very slow this season...
I think a lot of it this year has to do with drought, and I can accept that. Last year however we got pretty much the same (but worse) results. NO BEANS at all last year! I have a hard time blaming the seed when they all germinate, put on lush growth, and loads of flower, but zero beans. We have a drip watering system, and heavy mulch on the beds, so pretty sure were getting enough water to the plants... Do your beans set blossoms in high heat? I know it gets pretty hot up your way near memorial day! Thanks for the reply.
Jerry
The short answer is that I work in a donation garden, and we need to extend the bean crop as long as possible.
Last year the "donation garden" had serious issues with the pole bean crop, and I decided to use the left-over seed in my own garden to determine if the donation garden beds were the problem. I did get a crop of the pole beans in MY garden last fall, but we changed seed companies, and bean var. this year.
Still no luck (as of this writing, anyhow) with the Fortex pole beans from johnny's selected seeds. As I mentioned earlier, my bush beans are going great guns, but the pole beans at the donation garden (less than 5 miles away) are putting on lots of lush growth, lots of flowers, but almost nil for beans!
I, personally, would have put bush beans in the donation garden, but the "powers to be" decided it would be too much work for the volunteer harvesters to have to bend over to harvest. (HARD to get good help!)
I grow Jade bush beans. I get about three pickings from them before I turn them under for the summer. These are (my opinion) the best tasting bean in the world. No strings, thin tender pencil long beans.
Pole beans are almost always stringy, and don't tase as good as the bush beans either.
Also, bush beans generally only produce once so you only get one harvest. Pole beans will continue to produce, so you get more bang for your buck so to speak. Wonder if it's too late to plant pole beans??
stephanietx
I planted pole beans and bush beans this year in case one or the other didn't produce since green beans are the one thing I grow that our whole family likes to eat. They both were out of the ground in six or seven days after planting and are now about eight to ten inches high. It hasn't been that long since I planted them so I bet it's not too late for you to plant seed now.
I just yanked up my lettuce so maybe I'll put the beans there. Hmmm...
Since moving to Texas six years ago, we have never had a good yield on beans of any kind. I suspect there is something missing in our soil (but I have added lots of good amendments) and that the weather is just too hot and dry. If somebody knows the secret to growing pole beans in Texas, please speak up and tell us! Thanks!
I only have Blue bush beans planted and they are only 3 inches tall so nothing to add. My snow peas are growing like weeds and producing like they are on steroids. I may have to try pole beans.
I wonder whether the plants that aren't producing have too much nitrogen. That can cause plentiful leaves and stems but no veggies. I like Fortex, too, and it always yields for me.
I find the heirlooms poles are great producers...and consistent producers...I use them on an arbor so they can take the brunt of the direct sun and provide additional afternoon shade for the sweet peppers...besides, they are beautiful plants and the bees enjoy the blooms...
I also planted sugar snap peas and snow peas for the first time this year to go along with my pole and bush beans. I was told to inoculate my bean and pea seeds before planting them. It will be interesting to see if it helps as last year my beans died almost immediately after producing the first few beans.
hrp50 I have also read that one needs to inoculate peas prior to planting but as I stick with Natural methods for growing I used liquid Seaweed and have had fantastic results and zero pests.
perkoschilefarm
Thanks for your suggestion and I did use inoculant on my beans and my peas. It’s nice to know as I use liquid seaweed as a fertilizer. If what I have done this year doesn't work out, next year I will try seaweed. However, I believe that the inoculant I used is organic, but I will check on that because I want to be 100% organic. I’ve been wondering if you have to plant organic seeds in order to be 100% organic? I recently attended an organic gardening club meeting and when someone asked me where I buy my organic seeds and I said I don’t, they looked at me like I had three heads.
cocoa_lulu wrote: I'm interested in the Jade. Do you happen to can them? Being so tender do they hold up well?
I freeze mine and they are great to have pretty much anytime of the year then.
Greenhouse_gal: that thought had crossed my mind, as beans create their own nitrogen as well. May be on to something there!
I'm throwing in a couple of pics of my Jade beds. I use raised beds 4' wide by 16-24' wide and plant in a "square foot" format that makes for much easier/no weeding.
another one
OOPS! Sorry for the crappy pics sent earlier going to try again with BIGGER pics....
Second bed.... Thanks for the input gang
hrp50
Do seeds have to be...yes and no. True if you buy seed that is organic then continue with the organic practice then you will have a product which you can testify is 100% organic. This is not to say that you cannot buy conventional seed (not genetically altered) and plant and grow them using organic methods and not get organic produce. I do believe that there are traces of whatever chemical one uses in the seed from that year which is passed down from plant to seed to plant and if same methods are used then so on.
I am more concerned with the air quality that we grow our plants in. The pollution factor is enough to go organic but does that mean you have to grow everything in micro climates in controlled greenhouses, possibly. Frisco has a lead issue from Exide battery plant and lead shows up in the tap water and according to the EPA it's in the air too. Does this mean that growing organic in Frisco gives results of plants traced with lead...
Yes you can get inoculant that is organic and comprised of a form of Rhizobia bacteria. Seaweed initiates cell growth and causes vigorous growth of both root and stem. Seaweed is an activator of enzyme systems and as stimulants. I know you can soak seed in a weak mix of liquid seaweed to prevent fungus and promote seed germination. I just put 2 and 2 together and used seaweed as my snow pea inoculant and it worked.
Jerry, speaking of inoculation. Have you dug up any of the non-producing poles and looked at the roots? The nodes should have a red shade to them. Since they're not producing anyway, it could be worth looking. Maybe a compost tea made from your home producing bed would help?
Thanks, I have no doubt frozen would be great. I'll give them a 'canning try'...I really need a walk-in frezer ;0)
cocoa_lulu: I plan to try the root exam today. Hadn't thought of using "tea" from my home bed, but i'll give it a try too! LOL, yes, my "freezers" at home are too small as well! But I suppose thats a good sign that were successful at something huh? Let me know how the canning project works.
Thanks!
Jerry
If the beans are blooming but not setting it seems to me it is either a lack of polination or a weather related issue
Last year my speckled lima pole beans were lush and beautiful and blooming like crazy but no beans. I was beginning to suspect too much N but then the morning glories on the fence began to bloom and the bees came and then I started to get beans. I had not seen any bees before. They produced and produced until the weather got too cold for the bees. The vines looked great when the frost came and I turned them under. I used innoculant, a micro rhizae mix for lima and other beans. Im growing tomatoes in that bed this year and they are loaded with tomatoes, much better than last year. We've had so much wind, I know they got pollinated! Plus...there is all that good stuff the beans made for them last year.