It’s summer and it’s time for growing beans. Whether you like them fresh or dried, there are so many options to grow this season. We have our favorites (looking at you, lima and yard-long beans). What are yours?
Don’t have a trellis? Grow bush beans. They sit short in a bed and need no trellising to be productive. Got a wall? Plant pole beans on a trellis. Here are our favorite tips and videos from the Gardenerd Archives.
Bush Beans
It’s important to note that some varieties of beans are available in both bush or pole form. Check the label before you plant to make sure you have the right support for the variety you’ve purchased.
Grow Garbanzo beans! They are a novelty and it’s really fun to know how to grow them. The leaves sweat (I know, weird) and the pods produce 2 beans each. You can even grow a black garbanzo variety. Let them dry and store them for later use.
Black Eyed Peas (Cowpeas) are technically not peas, but legumes (beans). Most varieties grow in a bush habit, so they’re great for a groundcover around taller crops. There are some pole varieties available as well.
Dragon Tongue Beans – this post has a little bit about this bush bean, as well as some great recipes to try.
Pole Beans
Yard Long Beans – one of our favorite beans to grow. Just a few beans make a meal! Very economical.
Lima Beans – we grow both bush varieties and pole types. Both are great. Just grow them!
There are so many others to try. Scarlet Runner beans, purple podded beans, yellow wax beans, fava beans (though those grow in the cool season and mature in spring). Make beans part of your garden this year if you haven’t tried them before. You won’t regret it.
And if you need help drying them for storage, watch this!
