Step-by-step instructions on how to grow beans at home and on your site: from sowing to harvesting

Among useful vegetables, rich in vitamins and microelements and at the same time not requiring special care, the bean plant stands out. This type of agricultural crop is native to Central and South America. People have been eating it for seven thousand years. The variety of varieties is also striking, among which there are two main ones: curly and bush.

Since the plant is completely unpretentious and does not require constant attention, growing in the open ground and on the windowsill is within the power of even a novice gardener.

Which beans are best grown at home

Before you learn how to grow beans, you need to choose the appropriate variety, with descriptions and photographs of which you will read in this section.

Variety selection

The ideal solution for planting on a glazed loggia is a sugar or asparagus bush crop.

The following varieties are popular:

1. Caramel. Asparagus beans produce sugar-flavored pods just two months after germination and are resistant to all diseases. The plant reaches a height of 45-60 cm.
2. Shahinya. Ripe white fruits have increased sugar content. From germination to maturation, 70-80 days pass. Plants are resistant to disease and heat. Bushes grow to a length of 28-30 cm.
3. Oil king. The compact plant reaches a height of 40 cm, and the period from germination to fruiting is 50 days on average. The asparagus culture is resistant to diseases, tolerates the lack of regular watering.
4. Belozernaya 361. Bush plant, 35-40 cm high. The growing season (from the stage of growth to development) is 50-54 days. The beans are fleshy, yellow.
5. Backyard. Plants with branched stems, 40-50 cm high. Green beans with excellent taste.

Important!When planting at home, you should give preference to bush beans, since the variety is early ripening, fruitful and, unlike the climbing one, will not shade other seedlings. Also, the blossoming lash-loaches fill the empty space on the territory of the balcony.

Gardeners who decide to grow beans at home for the first time are recommended to purchase more than two varieties and sow 2-3 seeds each. So you will learn in practice which of the planted types will take root better and give a greater yield.

Shelling beans are not planted indoors, it is desirable to give preference to asparagus culture. The reasons for this are the long growing season (on average three months) and the lack of a serious grain harvest that pays for the efforts in cramped conditions.

Growing beans indoors

It is not difficult to grow beans indoors, since the flowers are self-pollinating. The root system is not very strong, a flower pot is enough for one bush.

Sowing time when growing on a windowsill and balcony

The plant is sown in late spring on a loggia.If there is no balcony in the apartment, but you want to enjoy delicious fruits, containers or pots are placed on the windowsill in the room, but in this case, the seeds are planted in mid-March.

Important! The length of day necessary for growing beans is observed from mid-February to mid-March. However, for a legume plant frosts destructive. Therefore, you can place seed pots on the balcony in mid-May, and if it is not glazed, then at the end of this month.

Containers and soil for beans

The legume plant grows quickly, so it is recommended to sow seeds immediately in a permanent container. Each bush will require a minimum of 3-5 liters of land. Can be planted in a common box or individual pots with a depth of at least 20 cm.

A tight container creates unfavorable conditions for future plants, vegetables will grow weak and barren, in addition, you will often have to water and feed the bushes, which will ultimately become an ineffective activity. Thickened planting of beans should be watered and fed more often.

Drainage holes are required in pots and boxes. If they are not there, pour expanded clay on the bottom with a layer of 2-3 cm. Get a universal soil, or better special for seedlings of vegetable crops.

Create your own potting mix if desired:

• one piece of turf land;
• one part of humus;
• add a glass of wood ash to a bucket of mixture.

Caring for beans from the moment of planting

The first feeding is carried out when the leaves appear. Then the procedure is repeated every two weeks.

During the growth stage, nitrogen fertilizers are used. Among them, horse manure extract is popular - a natural odorless fertilizer suitable for feeding plants on the windowsill and on the balcony.

When buds appear and until the end of the development period, nitrogen liquids are replaced with potash fertilizers, for example, wood ash. Sprinkle the earth with one or two tablespoons, then loosen and watered.

If the bean bushes are unstable, they are tied to pegs. For climbing varieties, trellises are built using twine, plastic mesh, decorative supports for indoor vines.

Harvest asparagus beans harvested two weeks after the end of flowering. The lower pods are the first to ripen, while their valves become hard and yellow.

Harvest the beans as they ripen, do not let the ready-to-eat fruit hang for too long. The earlier the fruits are plucked, the faster the next ones will grow and ripen.

Optimal light conditions

Beans love bright sun, but for a short time. If a grow in winter on a windowsill, then place plants on a southern, sunny and warm window. Turn on the phytolamp on cloudy days.

In late spring and summer, keep seedlings in the east or west window to create the effect of a short day.

Watering mode

When planting beans in open ground, the plant itself looks for moisture and food for itself, for example, it gets what it needs from different layers of the soil, it is saturated with rain. However, being in an enclosed space - in a pot or a box - it is completely dependent on the person.

The soil dries quickly, especially if the plant is located on a balcony, under the open sky. Nutrients in the ground at the time of planting are quickly depleted. Therefore, the bushes need to be watered more often.

Important! Water the vegetables as the topsoil dries. On the balcony, be guided by the weather. Protect from heavy rains, prevent the risk of soil leaching out of pots and water stagnation at the roots. To do this, place the boxes of beans inside the balcony so that they are under the roof.

How to plant and care for beans outdoors

Now let's figure out how to plant beans and when to place seed in open ground in the country, as well as how to effectively care for the plant and store the fruits.

Dates of planting in open ground

Novice gardeners often ask when beans are planted.The answer is this: since it is a heat-loving culture, it is placed in open ground provided that the soil warms up at a depth of 8-10 cm to 9-10 ° C. Depending on the climate, the optimal time for sowing beans is May-June.

If you intend to plant vegetable seedlings in the greenhouse, then it should be done in April.

Choosing a site for beans

Growing beans in the open field will be successful if the area is illuminated by the sun all day and there is a building, fence or hedge made of shrubs on the leeward side.

To obtain a harvest, beans are placed in fertile and loose soil, while it is important that the soil is water-intensive. Only slightly alkaline soil is suitable for the growth and development of crops. Thus, loamy and sandy loam soil are the best options for growing. If the soil is heavy, add sand, compost, peat chips, sawdust.

Soil preparation for beans

The site for planting is prepared in advance:

1. Weeds with roots are removed from the garden.
2. Organic fertilizer is applied: 1 m² will require 5 kg of manure or humus.
3. Digging up the soil. Clods of earth are not broken, but left for the winter to freeze in order to destroy the larvae of pests. In the spring, the clods are broken, the site is leveled with a rake.
4. Before planting, add 30 g of superphosphate and 25 g of potassium chloride per 1 m². Instead of these fertilizers, you can use 2 cups of wood ash.

Seed preparation and sowing

There are many tips on how to plant beans so that they sprout faster.

Among the common recommendations, the following steps stand out:

1. Seeds are sorted out and rejected cracked, broken and irregular in shape.
2. Soak overnight in water at room temperature. If it is not possible to soak overnight, then before planting, the seed is immersed in hot water for 10 minutes, the temperature of which should be 60-70 ° C.
3. Then they are kept in a boric acid solution for 5 minutes, which is prepared at the rate of 1 g of boric powder per 5 l of water. Instead of a boric acid solution, the seeds are kept for 5 minutes in a raspberry solution of potassium permanganate, but after this procedure they must be washed.

To speed up the process of seed germination, the beans are kept in a growth stimulator, for example, in "Epin" or "Zircon".

Seeds are planted according to the following scheme:

• the distance between the holes is from 18 to 20 cm;
• row spacing - from 45 to 50 cm;
• the depth of the beans is 4–5 cm.

After planting, the bed is watered abundantly. To speed up the emergence of seedlings, the ground is covered with polyethylene, creating greenhouse conditions.

Care and watering

The cultivation of beans is based on regular watering, loosening and weeding of row spacings, in the case of a curly one - a garter to supports or trellises in the greenhouse. The first shoots appear, as a rule, in 1-3 weeks. Already during this period, weak shoots are removed. As soon as the bush reaches a height of 10 cm, it is spud to give the plant stability.

Before flowering, it is recommended to water the plant once a week, and after that - two. During fruiting, the beans are watered more often than usual, but they cannot be poured.

Plant feeding

Top dressing is performed with potash and phosphorus fertilizers, although this plant is so unpretentious that it should be fed only in rare cases. For example, on dry and hot summer days, you can spill the bushes with an ash solution.

Reference. Fertilizers for the first feeding are applied 4-6 cm from a row of plants, with the second - within a radius of 8-10 cm.

Bush formation

For the stability of the bush and prevent blocking in the wind and heavy rain, the plant is spud. This is done for the first time when the bushes reach a height of 30 cm. Later - as needed.

If the foliage of the nearby bushes has closed, hilling is no longer required - the plants will support themselves. A vertical support is installed near each plant and tied up.

Diseases and pests: control and prevention

Beans are susceptible to fungal infections:

• Anthracnose... It manifests itself as brown spots on the leaves and stems, the fruits are deeply damaged, filled with pinkish mucus.
• Root rot... Symptoms are expressed in the form of a discharge of leaves and fruits, the roots and basal neck are covered with a white-pink bloom.
• White rot... The mycelium is white in color, which affects the stems and fruits of the culture.

To combat fungal infections, preparations containing copper are used.

Of the pests of beans, the most dangerous are:

• bean weevil;
• melon aphid;
• whitefly.

To fight, plants are treated with chemicals - insecticides. During this period, it is recommended to temporarily stop the procedure for attracting pollinating insects.

Slugs also attack beans, but they can be easily prevented by weeding the beds regularly.

Harvesting the first harvest

Bean pods are harvested two weeks after ripening, but they should be eaten in the near future, since they will not be stored for a long time. If you want the crop to last for a long time, the harvested pods are left to dry, and the beans in them are left to ripen. In this case, the plant is laid out under a canopy and left until the pods dry.

Reference. Break the pod in half to see if the beans are ready to harvest. If ready, it will break easily, and the fracture will have even edges.

Care Tips for Leguminous Varieties

In order for green beans to produce a crop, you need to properly care for them:

1. Choose a sunny plot for sowing with the required temperature for warming up the soil.
2. Before planting beans, it is advisable to fertilize the earth with minerals in the calculation of one part of nitrogen fertilizers, two parts of phosphorus and one part of potash.
3. For bush varieties, ensure hilling and, if necessary, set pegs. Curly green beans require solid support. The support must be strong to support the weight of the plant and not fall from strong winds.
4. Before the plants enter the flowering phase, the optimal frequency of watering is once a week. After the beginning of flowering, the amount of water is doubled. Also, after each watering, you need to loosen the ground so that a crust does not form, which prevents air from reaching the roots.
5. Superphosphate fertilizer is added after the appearance of the ovary with leaves. The second dressing with potassium salt is done while tying the buds.
6. When the plants reach a height of two meters, you need to pinch the top. This will provoke the formation of ovaries.

Conclusion

Beans are equally easy to grow both on the plot and on the windowsill, and to get a good harvest, you need to follow simple guidelines for planting and care.

Sowing in a sunny place, maintaining a sufficient amount of moisture in the soil, timely feeding, combating diseases, pests and their prevention are considered no less important conditions for growing.