This delicate plant contains a huge amount of usefulness. It is eaten with pleasure in many countries and is used in many cuisines. The green beans, of course, have their own growing secrets. After all, it is not in vain that it grows easily with some gardeners and brings large yields, while for others it is only disappointment.
Let's try to reveal all the secrets and help everyone to get the expected result.
Types of green beans
All types of green beans are divided into two categories - bush and curly. Moreover, they still differ in appearance. You can find pods of various colors - white and green, yellow, pink and purple.
Each type of beans has its positive and negative sides. The bush type of beans grows as a compact bush, does not need additional support and can grow well in temperate climates. The curly species gives a much larger yield, because it constantly grows and curls over any obstacle.
In order to understand which species is better, you need to land both of its representatives on your site. At the end of the summer season, it will be possible to compare the results, expended energy and draw conclusions.
When choosing green beans for ripening periods, take into account the climatic conditions of your region. In the northern regions, it is necessary to plant varieties that ripen early, and in the southern regions, any varieties can be planted.
Planting green beans
When planting this thermophilic culture, it is very important that the soil is well warmed up, and preferably sandy in composition. Therefore, it is usually recommended to plant green beans in early summer, when there will certainly be no night frosts. Before planting seeds (about 10-15 days), the soil is warmed up in a "greenhouse way", that is, the selected area is covered with a transparent film.
And you can maintain the required soil temperature with warm beds... You can build it yourself in any place convenient in the garden. Indeed, with a lack of heat, beans may not bear fruit at all, and while maintaining a favorable soil temperature, this culture develops much faster.
Experienced summer residents recommend that you always soak the seeds before planting them in the ground. You can keep them in water for just a few hours so that they are well soaked, but it is better to leave the beans until germination. Seeds with sprouts adapt much faster and take root in the garden bed.
Bush and curly beans are planted in the same way. Only in the future, for climbing plants, you will need supports along which they will trail. On the prepared bed, shallow (about 3 centimeters) holes are made, in which two sprouted beans are placed. Leave about 10 centimeters between each hole, and at least 40 centimeters for the row spacing.
Watering for green beans needs moderate and systematic. The soil should always be moist, but without overflow. Mulching helps to maintain the necessary warmth and moisture in the soil. You can use dry or fresh grass, as well as humus as a mulching layer. Mulch will promote the rapid emergence of seedlings.The first of them will begin to appear within 10-15 days.
Green Bean Care
This plant does not need any special care. Even fertilizers and various dressings are not necessary, and even more so when the beans grow in a warm garden bed and are protected by a mulch layer. The most important and vital requirement for green beans is constant warmth. This thermophilic plant will give a generous harvest only at temperatures close to twenty-five degrees.
When the seedlings grow a little, it is necessary to carry out natural selection - to choose the strongest and healthiest seedlings. Weak and frail specimens can be removed. In order not to damage the root system of other seedlings, it is better not to pull out excess plants, but to pinch them off to the very root.
In the absence of a mulch layer of beans, hilling is required. Usually it is carried out when the height of the seedlings has exceeded 10 centimeters. This earthen mound will help the plant to root well and develop its root system.
Watering should be abundant and regular, especially in hot weather. Once or twice a summer, you can replace water irrigation with the introduction of ash infusion.
The curly bean species can grow to an indefinite height and will spend all its strength on the growth of the stem. To prevent this from happening, a height of about 2 meters will be enough. When the beans reach this mark, you need to stop their growth by pinching the top. After that, the plant will give all its vital resources to the formation of fruits.
Harvesting asparagus beans
If ripe fruits are not picked in time, new ones will stop forming. Therefore, at least once a week, it is necessary to carefully inspect the shrub and collect the ripe pods. The more often you harvest, the more new ovaries will form, and hence the more fruits.
The ideal time to harvest beans is early morning. Bean pods have not yet had time to fry in the sun and have retained their moisture.
A large harvest of beans will keep well in the freezer. Freezing the young pods cut into pieces, you can be sure that all the useful substances will be preserved in them and the taste will not change at all. Some cooks use green beans in canning, add to various homemade products.
