UC Master Gardeners, Santa Clara County, CA
University of California
UC Master Gardeners, Santa Clara County, CA

Beans

Fresh picked green beans (Photo: UC, Evett Kilmartin)
Garden Help > Vegetables

UC Links

How to grow: Beans

Pest management: Bean cultural tips, pests, and diseases

The Basics

When to plant

  • Direct seed or transplant: April–June
  • For best results, wait to direct seed until daytime temperatures are regularly over 70 degrees and soil temperature is over 60 degrees. Direct-seeded beans will rot if the soil is too cold.

Harvest window: 50–100 days depending on variety.

Care overview

  • Nitrogen fertilizer is not needed because beans are legumes that can fix nitrogen from the air.
  • For a continuous harvest of bush beans, plant successive crops 2 to 3 weeks apart.
  • Pole beans bear over a longer period than bush beans but require trellising.

Additional link: Long Bean Trial

Recommended Varieties for Santa Clara County*

Blue Lake Stringless Pole, green pod
Spanish Musica Pole, broad green pod
Kwintus Pole, green pod
Chinese Green Noodle Pole, 20" long pods, bright green
Taiwan Black Seeded Pole, 38" long pods, black seeds
Blue Lake 274 Bush, green pod
Greencrop Bush, green pod

Other recommended varieties: 

  • Bush beans: Beurre De Roquencourt, Greencrop, Landreth Bush, Nickel, Purple Podded, Roc d’Or, Royal Burgundy, Slankette, Strike
  • Pole beans: Blue Lake, Dutch White Runner, Emerite, Fortex, Kentucky Blue, Marvel of Venice

* Many other varieties may also do well here in Santa Clara County. This list is based on UC Master Gardener trials, taste tests, and feedback from local growers.

 
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