How big should bush beans be before producing?

[llevity]

I'm new to this whole gardening gig, but I planted a handful of bush bean plants. They're now producing, but I find myself wishing the actual plants were bigger, so that I get more than a few beans "harvest".

Is this just a "be patient" thing? Do they need more something (light, fertilizer, room?). How big should these guys be getting? Is there any tricks I should be doing, like pulling the flowers off so it concentrates on growing bigger before producing?

Pics below, they're the plans "north" of the cat. Cat provided for scale.

https://imgur.com/a/ohfPl

[Gary350]

My Blue Lake Bush beans are a 65 day crop they are about knee high at first harvest. I have learned from experience first harvest is about 70% of the total crop, second harvest is 20% and third harvest is 10%. I pull my bean plants up after first harvest then plant a new crop. 70 + 70 = 140 this increases my total summer harvest by 40% more than having only 1 crop. I sew my beans like grass seed in a row about 12" wide 30 feet long row, I get about 50 pint mason jars full plus beans for dinner several times from the first harvest. Pole beans are much easier on the back but the harvest is much smaller and poles are too much trouble to put up and take down. Pole beans would do good on a 6' tall chain link fence.

Sometimes depending on the weather I pull the bean plants up after the second harvest this gives me 90 + 90 = 180 this is 80% more beans than having only 1 crop. If we have an early frost I get 90 + 70 = 160

[applestar]

Although the short and floppy bush beans have their place in the garden -- very easy to tuck in here and there, quick to mature so can be squeezed in before or after the main crop for the bed, etc. -- on the whole I prefer pole beans. -- easier to harvest and mostly lasts until frost once they get going around here.

...and ultimately I think they require less space because of the number of bush beans needed for the same amount of harvest.

[jal_ut]

If you want beans you plant a bean patch. That means maybe 3 or 4 20 foot rows with plants about every 4 inches in the rows. Then you can get a bucketful of beans for canning. Each plant only produces a few beans so it takes a lot of plants to fill a bucket.

[jal_ut]

When I was a youngster, it was a big thing in these parts to grow a bean patch for beans for the cannery. It was pole beans, and in the spring you could get a job cutting bean poles (willow shoots) down along the river, then when the beans came on you could pick beans. The farmer would pay by the weight in your bucket, so you had to scramble to make any money.

[llevity]

So I've read some tips like "make sure to harvest the beans young, this encourages them to produce more". Is this more for pole beans, then?

If I want something I can plant, and continue to harvest from, do pole bean do that?

[applestar]

Yes to pole beans with a conditional -- it depends on where you live because in the hottest part of the USA, even pole beans shut down in the summer though you can try to grow heat tolerant ones like rattlesnake or asparagus/noodle beans. In the colder area, you CANT grow the heat tolerant ones because they need longer growing season, but runner beans is another option.

I think keep picking young applies more to bush beans, but many beans develop strings when older, so picking young is preferable.

[llevity]

Ah, I'm in North FL, so looks like I need to seek out some rattlesnakes for the first time ever in my life. Thanks!

[gumbo2176]

I'm glad to see Applestar mention Asparagus Beans, also known as Japanese Yard Longs. They do very well in hot weather and produce beautiful beans from 18-24 inches in length. They are also a very fast growing bean and will out perform the Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans hands down.

They are great on the grill if you cut them in about 6 inch lengths and hit them with a bit of olive oil, sea salt, pepper and garlic powder. They also cook down nicely like any green bean. The only thing I found that I didn't care for is when I tried to pickle them. They got a bit leathery and not as crisp as regular green beans. Other than that, they are a must in my spring/summer garden.

[imafan26]

Wing beans also work in warmer climates but they will climb anything.Wing beans and aparagus beans are used a lot in pinakbet and other asian stir fries. They are suited to soups and stews.