Plant: Bean
Family: Legume
Seed Varieties Dates to Maturity:
- Gold Rush - Standard yellow bean with a light flavor and good crunch. Any yellow variety van be used, but this is what has been used in the past.
- Provider - Standard green bean, producing quite large pods in great numbers for several weeks, making this a very profitable variety, ideal for HCCF.
- Royal Burgundy - Standard purple bean that turns green when cooked. Crisp, and delicious, but not as strong a producer as the other varieties, and not as popular in sales.
- Dragon Tongue - A specialty variety of bean. It grows to about 7in, and is flatter than a standard bean, with mottled purple and white coloring. It is extremely juicy, crisp, and flavorful when eaten raw and delicious cooked as well. A favorite of the farmers.
Indoor Start Date and Cell Size:
Beans are directly seeded in the garden.
Greenhouse Transplant Date and Cell Size:
Beans are directly seeded in the garden.
Outdoor Transplant Date and Bed Specifications:
Directly seed four successions of beans in the garden every two weeks starting on 6/1 and ending on 7/15. Plant the beans 6in apart with 3 rows per bed.
Plant Needs:
Bean seeds can be inoculated before planting, but it is unnecessary. Other than that, beans are very low maintenance.
Cultivation Techniques:
Beans grow relatively quickly, and shade out weeds effectively. However, some hand weeding, or careful weeding with a small stirrup hoe is necessary early on.
Pests and Pest Control:
Slugs and snails occasionally chew beans as they mature, which is frustrating, but not severely damaging to the plant itself. Be sure to keep the weeds under control around the garden. Also try putting a can of beer in the lettuce. Slugs and snails are attracted to beer and will crawl into the can and drown. This has only had mild success. Another option is putting out a board in the lettuce and killing all the slugs under it in the mornings in salt-water bath. The only guaranteed way to control these pests is to pick them off by hand.
Harvest Techniques:
Pick by hand, keeping an eye out for chewed beans. At the height of their production, beans should be picked at least every other day so none become too old.
Storage:
After washing beans, they can be kept refrigerated for up to a week. They also freeze well to be thawed for later use.
Sales:
Sold at $3.50 per pound in half-pound increments for retail and $2.00 per pound for wholesale.