Beans Donation Tracker

Quick Links: How & Where to Grow | Temperature | How to Care For | Harvest Signs | Harvesting | Support & Pruning | Pests | Companions | Varieties | Preservation | Recipes | Michigan Tips | Fun Facts

🌱 How & Where to Grow Beans:

• Wait for 60°F soil (late May) – beans absolutely will not germinate in cold soil!
• Plant seeds 1 inch deep, 2-4 inches apart for bush types, 4-6 inches for pole types.
• Space rows 18-30 inches apart for bush beans, 36 inches for pole beans.
• Install supports for pole varieties at planting time – 6-8 foot stakes or trellises.
• Sunlight: Full sun (6-8 hours) for best production.
• Soil Type: Well-drained soil with pH 6.0-7.0.
• Soil Amendment: Light compost only – beans fix their own nitrogen!

Pro tip: Inoculate seeds with rhizobia bacteria for better nitrogen fixation and increased yields.
 

🌡️ Temperature Guidance:

Critical 60°F minimum soil. Frost-tender. Nights above 50°F.

• Planting: Wait for consistent 60°F soil temperature – cold soil causes seeds to rot.
• Growing: Optimal temperatures 65-85°F.
• Beans stop growing below 50°F and are killed by any frost.
• Flowers drop in extreme heat above 90°F.

Michigan’s late May to early June planting ensures warm soil and avoids late frost damage!
 

💧 How to Care for:

• Consistent Moisture: Critical during flowering and pod development.
• Watering: 1 inch weekly – water at soil level to prevent disease.
• Mulch: 2-3 inches after plants are established to retain moisture.
• Fertilizer: Minimal needed – side-dress with compost at flowering if soil is poor.
• Weeding: Keep weed-free when young – mature plants shade out weeds.

📏 Harvest Signs:

Snap when firm and crisp. Shell when plump. Dry when pods rattle.

• Snap beans: Harvest when pods are pencil-thick and seeds barely visible.
• Shell beans: Wait until pods are plump and beginning to dry.
• Dry beans: Leave until pods are brown and beans rattle inside.
• Regular harvesting encourages more pod production!

Check plants every 2-3 days during peak season – beans mature quickly!
 

🧺 Harvesting:

Pick carefully to avoid damaging plants. Harvest when dry. Use both hands.

• Always harvest when plants are dry to prevent disease spread.
• Use two hands – one to hold stem, one to pull pod.
• Pick regularly – overripe pods signal plant to stop producing.
• Morning harvest after dew dries provides best quality.
• Handle gently – bruised beans deteriorate quickly.

🪜 Support & Pruning:

Bush beans need no support. Pole beans require 6-8 foot structures.

• Pole bean supports: Teepees, trellises, or single poles work well.
• Install at planting – adding later damages roots.
• Train young vines clockwise around poles.
• No pruning needed – beans naturally produce until frost.
• Pinch tips only if plants outgrow supports.

🪲 Michigan Pests:

Mexican bean beetle, aphids, Japanese beetles, bean mosaic virus.

• Mexican bean beetles – copper-colored with black spots. Hand-pick adults and yellow egg masses.
• Aphids – cluster on growing tips. Blast off with water.
• Japanese beetles – skeletonize leaves. Use row covers or hand-pick.
• Bean mosaic virus – causes mottled leaves. Plant resistant varieties.

🫱🏽‍🫲🏼 Companions:

Excellent with corn, squash, potatoes, carrots. Avoid onions, garlic.

• Three Sisters planting: Corn provides support, beans fix nitrogen, squash shades soil.
• Potatoes benefit from nitrogen while deterring Mexican bean beetles.
• Carrots grow well between bean rows.
• Summer savory improves growth and flavor.
• Avoid alliums (onions, garlic) which inhibit bean growth.

🌿 Varieties:

Bush: ‘Provider’, ‘Blue Lake 274’. Pole: ‘Kentucky Wonder’, ‘Scarlet Runner’.

• ‘Provider’: 50 days, bush, excellent disease resistance, produces in cool weather.
• ‘Blue Lake 274’: 58 days, bush, classic green bean flavor.
• ‘Kentucky Wonder’: 65 days, pole, heirloom favorite, very productive.
• ‘Scarlet Runner’: 75 days, pole, ornamental flowers, edible beans.
• ‘Cherokee Trail of Tears’: 85 days, pole, black beans, historical variety.

🫙 Preservation:

Freeze blanched 3 minutes. Pressure can only. Dry on plants.

• Freezing: Blanch whole beans 3 minutes, cool, freeze in meal portions.
• Pressure canning: Only safe method – never water bath can beans.
• Drying: Leave pods on plants until brown, shell, finish drying indoors.
• Pickled: Dilly beans make great refrigerator pickles.
• Fresh storage: Keep unwashed in perforated bags 5-7 days.

🧑🏽‍🍳 Recipes:

Green bean casserole, three bean salad, dilly beans, bean soup.

• Classic green bean almondine with butter and toasted almonds.
• Southern-style green beans slow-cooked with ham hock.
• Asian stir-fried beans with garlic and ginger.
• Fresh bean salad with herbs and vinaigrette.
• Traditional succotash combining beans with corn.

✋🏼 Michigan Tips:

• Wait until Memorial Day weekend for safe planting.
• Use row covers for early plantings if soil is warm.
• Succession plant every 2 weeks through July for continuous harvest.
• Choose disease-resistant varieties for humid Michigan summers.
• Plant pole beans on north side of garden to avoid shading other crops.
• Fall beans planted in early July often have fewer pest problems.

🧠 Fun Facts:

• Beans fix atmospheric nitrogen through root nodules containing rhizobia bacteria.
• The Three Sisters method has been used by Native Americans for over 1,000 years.
• Each bean plant can fix up to 50 pounds of nitrogen per acre!
• There are over 40,000 bean varieties in the world.
• Lima beans release cyanide when attacked by pests as a defense mechanism.
• The longest bean pod recorded was 48 inches long!
• Michigan produces over 200 million pounds of dry beans annually, ranking 2nd in the US.