pipegnome
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Location: North Central Indiana, zone 5b

Thinning the beans.

I'm a new gardener. Most of my plants were seedlings purchased from a local mega store.

I also planted a few blue lake 274 and some bush cukes from seeds. I followed the directions on the packets and planted 2-3 seeds in each hole. They are finally popping up!!!! Yay!

The question I have is: in each spot, I'm getting 2-3 plants sprouting; should I thin it down to one plant at each spot? And if so, when?

Thank you for your time. I truly appreciate all of the combined knowledge here. I have already found scads of useful information.

AnnaIkona
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Hi there!

Yes, you would need to thin them out. 2 or more beans growing so close together is not a good idea.

pipegnome
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Location: North Central Indiana, zone 5b

Thanks Anna!

imafan26
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Beans are so easy to grow I usually only plant one seed in a hole. Seal the package with tape and keep the seeds in a bag in the refrigerator or freezer. Bean seeds are good for at least 9 years if they are stored well. Bush beans sometimes can still use a bamboo stake. Most of the beans will be ready all at once if you want to process or freeze them. You might get a smaller batch later but they are pretty much done. Pole beans will give you a few beans every other day for a longer period of time.

Bush cucumbers like fanfare and spacemaster produce most of their fruit over a short period of time and then they are done.
Vinig cucumbers will produce over a longer period of time. Burpless cucumbers are not as bitter.

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jal_ut
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Hmmmm, I dunno.... I plant bush beans with a seeder that drops the seed, maybe one or two every 8 inches in the row. I have never thinned them. Just let them grow.

Dad used to plant cukes in hills 5 seeds per hill with hills spaced about 4 feet.

I now plant cukes in rows with a seed every 8 inches in the row. No thinning. Whatever comes up grows.

Going back to my youth, a few farmers grew an acre or so of beans for market. They would plant vining beans and in the
spring we could get a job cutting bean poles (willow shoots) and pushing them in for the beans to climb. Then later we could get a job picking beans. The farmers did not pay by the hour but rather by the output. To make any money you had to pay attention and get something done.

RadRob
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I don't thin either, they help support each other and will be fine. I usually plant 2 rows about 6" apart in a row

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jal_ut
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pipegnome, I would not thin those. I think they will do fine.

Taiji
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This is just how I do it. I usually put 2 seeds within 2 inches of each other, then move down the row only about 4 to 6 inches and put a couple more. I usually get a great harvest with stringless green pods that way. I don't bother thinning or filling in with new ones if a few seeds don't sprout.

I may or may not have another row a foot to 18 inches from the first. It doesn't seem to matter.

Jim Crockett of the old Victory Garden thought beans and peas didn't mind being crowded. He would even sometimes scatter the seeds in little beds and just let them fall where they may. I haven't done that though.

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Lindsaylew82
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I dig a trench and just kind of plant them where they fall. Somewhere around every 3-6"...

I do rows about a foot apart. We have 4 rows this year, and they are just comin on! Looks to be a really nice harvest this year!

Peter1142
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They can be grown extremely thickly and they don't mind, but they are a real pain to pick that way. Less weeding though. Up to you. Try it both ways if you want to see what works best for you.

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Gary350
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I sprinkle Blue Lake bush beans like grass seed in a 10" wide row 50 feet long. If any beans are closer that 3" I move them. One row will produce more than a bushel basket of beans on the first harvest. First harvest is 70% of the summer harvest.

bcallaha
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I plant Blue Lake about 4" apart, and I don't thin. Never had any problems except with critters eating the beans when they first come up!!

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Lindsaylew82
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Didn't thin the beans! We usually get 3 really good flushes of beans before they start going to seed and getting too tough.

These are contender!
Image

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Lindsaylew82
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Y'all should seriously try Contender next year.
I canned 9 quarts of beans today. Harvested in 2 flushes, within 4 days. Picked yesterday 4 quart jars worth snapped. We cooked and ate at least 4 quarts worth fresh from the garden...
Today, they are heavy with the biggest flush. Likely it will be around 8-10 more finished quarts picked tomorrow.

Still more tiny ones and lots of pastel pink blooms. These little bush beans are givers!

Don't thin the beans!
Image

Taiji
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They look great! Is contender a stringless bean?

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Lindsaylew82
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For now they are haha!

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applestar
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You have to pressure can those, right?

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Lindsaylew82
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Yep! 25 minutes for quarts. 10 pounds pressure.



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