Beans are a thermophilic culture. Even light frosts are fatal to her.
But beans are successfully grown by many summer residents in a temperate climate.
To collect a plentiful crop of legumes, choose the right variety. There are a lot of them - there are even decorative species.
Bean care will not be time consuming.
Choosing a Bean Variety
Beans belong to the Legume family. It grows in the form of a bush or curls on a support. The color and shape of the seeds, depending on the particular plant variety, vary. There are species with monophonic and with a "mosaic" color of beans. Decorative bean varieties are not suitable for food, but the culture decorates the garden with their appearance, and dried colored seeds can then be used for decoration.
Have you decided to plant a useful culture on your site? Then start by choosing a variety. All of them are divided into 3 groups for the convenience of breeders and summer residents:
• With peeling (grain) beans. These varieties are less valuable in nutritional terms - they are grown mainly in grain, which is famous for its nutritional properties. They are distinguished by the presence of dense folds inside the pod - only beans go into food. Consider the following varieties - Light, Chocolate, Nerussa, Heliada, Pervomayskaya, Ballad, Dream of the hostess, Golden, Ruby, Barbara, Stanichnaya, Bezenchukskaya white, Oran, Lilac.
Peeling beans
• With Sugar Beans. Universal beans, which are grown both for grain and for whole food. The parchment layer of the valves is not so hard or appears only at the end of the season. Before heat treatment, veins should be removed. Varieties suitable for growing on a personal plot are Antoshka, Rant, Secunda, Nastena, Fantaziya.
• With sugar (asparagus) beans. Varieties of this group are considered the most delicious - they generally do not have dense cusps. Suitable for food immediately after heat treatment - beans and pods are characterized by a gentle pleasant taste. Varieties are popular - Lambada, Polka, Zhuravushka, Lika, Darina, Sapphire, Purple Queen, Golden Neck, Sax 615, Zinaida, Emerald, Cinderella, Hope, Rosinka, Mauritanka.
The climatic features of the region should also be taken into account. To grow crops in the northern and temperate latitudes, choose a plant that ripens faster, otherwise, before the onset of the first autumn frosts, the pods will not have time to ripen. In the southern regions, any variety can be taken for cultivation. Beans by ripening time is divided into 3 groups:
• Early ripe (up to 65 days) - Container, Curly vegetable, Early ripe, Contender
• Mid early (65-75 days) - Harmony, Oily Earliest 273, Oran, Dialogue, News ,.
• Mid-season (75-100 days) - Gribovskaya 92, Tiraspol, Violet
• Late ripening (over 100 days) - Beronia, Turkey, Melody.
If the vegetables in your area are often "sick" and are attacked by insect pests, it is better to plant varieties resistant to them. On the packaging for the seeds, this is indicated.
Choose a place to land
Beans loves the sun. In penumbra, it also grows, but does not give high yields. Give the plant a suitable area on the site so that it suffices the sun and does not blow strong winds. Curly grades can plant a place near the fence - then additional support is not required.
Grow beans better on light, fertile, well-drained soils. On clay, waterlogged soil, do not expect a high legume crop. Choose a site for planting so that groundwater does not pass close to the surface of the soil. The soil reaction should be slightly alkaline - pH 6-6.5. If necessary, alkalize the earth with chalk or dolomite before landing.
Do not plant beans after related crops (peas, peanuts, lentils, soybeans) - "general" diseases will be transmitted to plantings. You can return to this place only after 3-4 years. Experienced summer residents sow beans after tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, cabbage. Legumes themselves are excellent siderates that enrich the soil with minerals. After beans, the land becomes more loose and fertile, suitable for growing vegetable crops.
Growing beans: preparing soil and seed for planting
If the land on the plot is rich in minerals and humus, then additional agricultural technology is not required. If necessary, feed the beds intended for sowing beans in such a way (per 1 m2) before the autumn planting:
• humus - 4-5 kg,
• potassium salt - 20-30 g,
• superphosphate - 25-35 g.
Before spring planting, add 15-20 g / 1 m2 of ammonium nitrate to the soil.
Buying bean seeds is not a problem, as they are in every horticultural store. Examine the packaging, read the characteristics of the variety. If you are planting seeds taken from your own crop, make sure that the planting material is intact, without wormholes and traces of disease damage.
Beans are better prepared in advance - so they will sprout faster.
The algorithm is as follows:
• Soak beans for swelling overnight in hot water with the addition of potassium permanganate. It is convenient to place the seeds in moist cotton pads or a rag.
• A few minutes before planting, dip the beans in a solution of boric acid - this will protect them from damage by insect pests.
Sprouted bean seed
Bean planting
Autumn bean planting is suitable only for the southern regions of the country, where in winter the temperature does not drop below -2 ˚C. In a temperate climate, if you select early or medium-ripening plant varieties, start planting in late May or early summer, when the threat of frost return is over. And in order not to lose the precious time that the culture will need to ripen the fruit, you can first plant the bean seedlings - at home or in warm greenhouses.
Planting beans on seedlings is as follows:
• For convenience, sow the sprouted seeds in separate pots with nutritious soil to a depth of 3-5 cm. A deeper planting will cause the seedlings to not hatch. Cover the pots with foil or glass to create favorable conditions for seeds.
• Until the first sprouts appear above the ground, plantings need to maintain a temperature of 20-23 ˚C.
• Then you can lower the temperature to 16 ° C.
Grown bean seedlings
After 2-3 weeks, the seedlings can be transferred to the open ground. Observe the weather - the street should already be warm (at least 15 ˚C)! Without damaging the roots, with a clod of native land, transplant seedlings on a bed. The distance between the plants is 8-10 cm, and between the rows is 35-50 cm. Pour the soil with warm water and cover the plantings with foil or non-woven material for several days.
When planting curly beans not near the fence, prepare the trellis system in advance. The simplest option is 2 poles with a wire or twine stretched between them. In this case, the landing is carried out on both sides of the trellis.
Homemade Bean Trellis
And when planting the culture with "nests" (several seeds in one hole), instead of ropes, use ordinary wooden stakes driven into the ground near the hole. It is better not to use plastic or metal sticks - the plant will not catch on to them.
Bean Care
The optimum temperature for growing beans is 23-28 ˚C. With proper care, it will grow at lower temperatures. Only frosts below -2 ˚C are not allowed.
Bean Care Rules:
• Watering. The plant requires abundant watering, especially during the formation of pods. Keep the soil moderately moist at all times. The exact rate of humidification will depend on the weather. The best water for irrigation of legumes is rainwater. To prevent moisture from evaporating quickly, mulch the beds - for example, with peat. This will also prevent the growth of weeds, greatly facilitating the care of plantings.
• Loosening and weeding. After each watering, it is advisable to loosen the beds with beans so that the ground is not covered with a dense crust. This will help to avoid bogging of the site - the soil will be light and well-drained. Do not dig the soil deep, otherwise, damage the root system. Be sure to take time and weed removal between plantings. So that there is less unnecessary overgrowth on the beds, you can use special liquid preparations that are harmless to cultivated plants
• Top dressing. When the plants take root in a permanent place, you can carry out the first top dressing. Use complex fertilizers that contain nitrogen. In further culture, nitrogen-containing substances will no longer be required, otherwise the green mass will grow abundantly. Many summer residents use fermented bird droppings or infusion of weeds. After 3-4 weeks, for the normal formation of the fruit, carry out the second fertilizer of the plantings. During this period, beans need phosphorus, potassium and magnesium.
Bean has grown! How to harvest?
The method and timing of the harvest depends on the variety of beans planted. Beginning summer residents often collect all the fruits at once. This is not entirely true, as the pods can ripen unevenly. Check them for ripeness and cut off those that are ready for harvesting.
Asparagus beans do not overdo it on the bed - it will lose its nutritional value. Seeds from the pods are not obtained - the fruits are eaten whole. Cut the pods in a timely manner - until they are dry. To determine the ripeness of the fruit is simple - break the pod in half. At the fault, it should be flat, without fibers.
Beans grown for grain on the contrary, you can hold it longer in the garden - it will be more convenient to remove the beans from the pods. Wait until they turn yellow and begin to crack. You will be late with the collection - you have to collect seeds from the ground. If the crop is plentiful and there is no time to sort out all the fruits, put the pods on a blanket, cover with another one from above, gently tap on it with a stick - the beans themselves will come out of the pods.
Harvested beans can immediately be eaten or prepared for the winter - freeze, dry.
How to protect beans from diseases and pests?
Beans are rarely damaged by insects and suffer from pests. If you follow the basic rules of growing crops, planting will yield high yields. Prevention is as follows:
• Strictly observe crop rotation.
• Despite the fact that beans do not like cold winds, the area should be well ventilated. This can prevent the formation of rot and fungal diseases on plants.
• Do not use "dubious" seed material - this way you can bring diseases into the soil that will destroy not only legumes, but also nearby plantings.
• Follow the sowing schedule, as severe thickening in the beds will lead to the formation of fungus, and the plants will be short of sunlight.
• It is better to immediately remove specimens affected by insects and diseases from the beds.
Among insect pests, beans are most often “pestered” by 2 bugs - a spider mite and a bean kernel.
Spider mite it affects the foliage of the plant, entangling it with thin white threads - if measures are not taken in time, the green mass will fall off, the stems should not be ovary.
But grains settles inside the pod, eating seeds. Inspect the seeds before planting - small holes in them will show that an insect has already been here. Feel free to throw such planting material. Pesticides help in pest control. But choose the chemicals carefully, because the fruits will be used in the future for food.
Bean kernel
The most dangerous diseases for beans - andntracnosis, bacteriosis. It is practically impossible to get rid of them - it is better to remove damaged specimens immediately from the beds so as not to infect other plants. White rot and rust lend themselves well to “treatment” - just spray the planting with special solutions and remove the damaged parts of the plant.
Anthracnose on beans
The appearance of pests and diseases is much easier to prevent than to save plantings later. Watch the beds so that at the end of the season to collect a plentiful crop.
