Bush beans too close together.
This is my first time growing bush beans. The directions on the packages said to thin them when they came up. However, I still haven't done it and they are pretty big. If you were me, would you thin them now or leave the plants so close together? They may only be 4 inches or so apart in some spots.
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Gary350
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- Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.
I plant my bean seeds 3" apart and they do fine. 40 years ago I planted beans in single rows then I learned to plant 2 rows side by side in the same row. After that I started planting beans 3 rows side by side about 3" between rows. Now I plant beans in a patch 800 seeds sprinkled in a patch 3 ft wide by 20 ft long.
A bean patch will make a lot of beans for a small garden space but beans actually do best in single rows. Single rows get better sunlight and you get about 2 times more beans and larger beans. Total harvest size for a bean patch will out produce 2 single rows of beans.
A bean patch 3 ft by 20 ft will produce about 2 times more beans than 2 single rows 3 ft apart 20 ft long. Both that up the same amount of garden space. 2 single rows of beans need 120 bean seeds vs a bean patch that needs 800 seeds.
Plants will produce beans all summer until frost kills the plants so keep picking beans until you get all you want.
At the end of garden season I let my beans go to seed so I have my own seeds to plant next year.
A bean patch will make a lot of beans for a small garden space but beans actually do best in single rows. Single rows get better sunlight and you get about 2 times more beans and larger beans. Total harvest size for a bean patch will out produce 2 single rows of beans.
A bean patch 3 ft by 20 ft will produce about 2 times more beans than 2 single rows 3 ft apart 20 ft long. Both that up the same amount of garden space. 2 single rows of beans need 120 bean seeds vs a bean patch that needs 800 seeds.
Plants will produce beans all summer until frost kills the plants so keep picking beans until you get all you want.
At the end of garden season I let my beans go to seed so I have my own seeds to plant next year.
like gary, I plant bush beans close together. this year it's a 4 foot wide bed with 5 rows and the beans spaced about 4-6 inches apart. planting like this REQUIRES you monitor the moisture level DAILY. things dry out in a hurry. I grow top crop bush beans, which are heirlooms, and like garys beans, keep producing. sometimes way beyond what you want/need, right up until a good killing frost, or they get torn out in frustration and/or lack of more canning jars.
one of the up sides to this method is that after the plants bush they shade out the "under growth", so a good weeding, or moderate mulch ends much of the weeding chores.
keep experimenting, and remember, the only time you fail is when you give up and quit trying.
one of the up sides to this method is that after the plants bush they shade out the "under growth", so a good weeding, or moderate mulch ends much of the weeding chores.
keep experimenting, and remember, the only time you fail is when you give up and quit trying.
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Gary350
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 7419
- Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
- Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.
Yes too many beans will shade out grass & weeds it also shades the soil so sun can not dry out the soil. Shade holds moisture better than mulch you don't need to water. You can water your garden if you want but it waters weeds & grass too. I like a zero maintenance garden. Get crops planted early spring once they have good established roots they do good in HOT weather with no rain for 3 to 5 weeks.xtron wrote: beans shades out the "under growth".
