Is there a trick to beans?

[Katie85]

I am attempting beans again this year. Last year I had no luck. My plants (several different kinds) grew but died. The only one that produced was my green beans and I only got about 2 cups worth from it.... Help!

 

[flowerbug]

what kinds did you try? the more specifics you can give the better, like what conditions, if you have full sun, watering, soil, when you planted and such...

i've grown many kinds of beans and some seasons they've gone really well and other seasons they haven't. last year was one of the "haven't" ones for me too.

the best producers and most reliable beans (even last year) have been the Top Notch wax beans and some thin green beans that only had the name "Experimental"(but the seeds off these are very hard to set and shell so last year i decided i would just switch to all wax beans for fresh eating). i now have a few cross breeds and am interested to see if they have kept the good features of the parents so i will be planting some of those this season to trial.

i have enough other green types that i can raid for fresh eating at times if i think i need them. i usually don't.

 

[majorcatfish]

yes more information would be very helpful....

 

[Katie85]

Sorry..

Green beans, black beans, purple pod (cow peas), snap peas, english peas, kidney beans,and black eye peas.

 

[majorcatfish]

@Katie85 we have all gone though bean problems, just take your time and tell us what you have been running into....

did they sprout?
how big before dying?
when did you plant them...spring/summer ?
temperature ?
soil... clay, sand.etc ?
you added anything to the soil?
how much sun are they getting ?
any bugs you noticed..?
any leaf problems..?

 

[Collector]

When I first started growing beans I had to add innoculent with them. First year I did not use it and had pretty bad results. The next year I used it and it made a whole lot of difference in the harvest. Once the soil is inoculated it stays in garden soil. If you are just starting to garden in new ground you may need to inoculate. I just soak the bean seeds for a couple hours then put them in paper sack put inoculent in with them and shake up so beans get coated then plant, that is it. This may help if it hasn’t been done. Good luck!

 

[Zeedman]

Sorry..

Green beans, black beans, purple pod (cow peas), snap peas, english peas, kidney beans,and black eye peas.

Interesting. The snap peas & English peas like cool weather, cowpeas like hot weather, and beans prefer the Goldilocks zone in between... so at least one of them should have done well, regardless of temperature. The most common reason for failure with beans is cool soil and/or excess moisture; but that mostly affects germination, and you state that the plants were growing. I concur with others, more information may be needed to narrow the field of possibilities.

 

[Just-Moxie]

Katie- I am new to the whole Southern gardening thing myself, having grown up in MO.
My neighbor gave me some Roma bush beans one year, and they were great! Grew nicely, produced very well, and had excellent taste and texture. If I grow beans again, they will be Roma.

https://www.burpee.com/vegetables/beans/bean-roma-ii-bush-prod000597.html