Bush Beans

Bush beans come in yellow and greens, and a few other exciting colours, grow very fast and can provide large yields in smaller spaces. The plants only grow a foot or so high, unlike their vining pole bean cousins.

Eastern Butterwax beans are a common variety of yellow bush bean. Bush beans require very little attention, grow very fast and provide good yields of four to five-inch tasty yellow pods. With some prep work and a few tricks, it is quite possible to produce two crops of bush beans in a season, even here.

The beans will ripen at the same time, allowing for one or two single processing/storage cycles. Storing beans is simple, remove the stem part, snap in half (or leave whole) and freeze.

Another great feature is that beans will increase nitrogen in the soils for subsequent plants. This makes them great for planting even if you don’t want to harvest anything – as they will add nitrogen. This net nitrogen producing feature, ease of growing and good yields make them one of the easiest and useful plants in the garden.

Bush beans require a warmer soil to germinate and are planted directly in the soil. Two weeks after the last frost or sooner if you use row covers, cold frames or plant next to the house.

Square foot gardening puts nine plants per square foot; this may seem like a lot. However, they do grow quite well packed together. When picking them, don’t forget to put the discarded plant back into the garden to release its trapped nitrogen.