Darlin' wife said she wants climbing edible pod beans (not the shelling kind) this year, so I snapped to and saluted. Now here I am, a total novice for this vegetable, scratching my head about variety, germination, growing period, fertilization, harvest period, yield, insect and disease control, everything. I've asked around but so far no one I've talked to grows beans, so I'm "advice challenged".
Help!
We're in Zone 9a and last frost is about mid-March, July and August have 100+ degrees consistently, first frost Dec 1st or so. The local soil is excellent neutral pH loam - we plant in raised beds in the soil supplemented with composted hay and heavily mulched with the composted hay.
I would really appreciate any advice and suggestions.
Frank
Climbing beans for hot Arizona
Hi Frank! I'm learning beans for the first time this summer too, so maybe we can pool our knowledge base.
Right now, about all I know is that pole beans in Tucson should probably go in mid-March through late April. I have different sources that give different ranges, so this is the average. One source also recommends a planting from 7/15 to 8/15.
The only pole bean seeds I've got is some Scarlet Runners that I got as a "hand-me-down" from a friend; this year I'll be doing bush beans, both green and wax instead. I'm looking forward to seeing how yours go, and maybe I'll add them to my list!
Sorry I'm not more immediate help, though...
Pole beans can be a problem in hot weather. Rattlesnake has a reputation for handling hot weather better than most. Of course for my money, Kentucky Wonder (brown seed) is the best tasting, but you have to get them in just as soon as the last danger of frost is past and hope you don't have triple digit temps in early June. Other good ones include McCaslan, Missouri Wonder, Lazy Wife, Greasy , Blue lake......
Runner beans like Scarlet Runner are a different species and even more intolerant of hot weather.
I'll go with FarmerDill, I like the Kentucky Wonder for great taste. If you trellis them and interplant with say with dill and borage. Let them get some size and then mulch to help conserve moisture. Pick your beans when they are small for the best taste and to encourage them to keep on coming.
I know this discusion is about pole beans, but I have the same too hot, too much sun issue as you Arizonans, so I'll toss in my two cents, even though my experience is with bush beans. I grew yellow was bush beans last year. They are supposed to be "60 days" - but mine just sat around during the hot weather - but the moment the temps dropped under 95* F during the day, they took off and went crazy producing beans. I mulched some and didn't mulch others, and the difference in production was dramatic. Also, some of the un-mulched ones just up and died, even though they got watered the same as the mulched ones. I almost ripped out the beans in June/July to try something heat-loving there, but was sure glad I didn't, as there are few things as yummy as crunchy baby beans right off the plant and into the mouth.
By the way, I am going to try Kentucky Wonder pole beans this year, also. Don't know if it will work out, but this is the plan --
Cover my warmest south facing raised bed with clear plastic in early spring to raise the temps. Remove plastic and plant out beans ON our last expected frost date. Mulch them with dark shredded paper (probably shredded paper bags) to help keep the soil warm. After they are up and the weather starts warming up, either replace the dark mulch with light shredded paper or put white shredded paper mulch on top of the dark to reflect heat and light. Keep evenly moist and see what happens. I thought about putting up shade cloth, but I don't believe in too much work or too much coddling. If it can't grow with only minimal fuss here in the desert, then it doesn't get grown.
Good luck! I'd be very interested to know how your beans work out.
(BTW, I also grow blackeye peas, which are far from the same thing, but they LOVE the heat and sun here... I hear the "yard long" type of beans also like the heat, but I don't have experience growing them in Desert Sun & Desert Heat.)
We grew Blackeyes and Lady Cream peas one year and they did great. Speaking of hedging the frost date and planting early (a necessity out here if one is to get a crop from heat-sensitive plants), anyone know the soil temp required for beans such as Kentucky Wonder to germinate? Maybe germinate inside and transplant?
doccat5, what's the purpose of the dill and borage interplant?
Frank
Maybe the dill & borage help keep away bugs and also shade the bottoms of the plants some? I notice that keeping the SOIL cooler was more important to the beans than keeping the above ground parts of the plants in shade. I've always heard of direct seeding beans; never tried transplanting them.
About soil temp for germinating beans.
From the Victory seeds website:
"Don’t bother trying to get an early start with beans – you’ll waste a lot of seed! Beans are fairly fragile and you should not sow them until all frost danger has passed and the soil remains above 65ºF.
In the words of the botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey, "No vegetable seed decays quicker than beans, and the delay caused by waiting for the ground to become warm and free from excessive moisture will be more than made up by the rapidity of growth when finally they are planted." "
Frank