Bush Beans
Very popular to grow thanks to its fast growing ability and its success rate is the green bush bean. This is a popular one to grow with children as the results can be seen just days apart, and it is very easy to grow. Round the kids up in the last week of the summer holidays and teach them how easy it is to grow your own vegetables!
What you will need:
Wessex® Fruit & Veg Topsoil
Quality fresh compost
Garden mulch (optional)
Green bean seeds
Trowel
Get your bed ready
All beans like a warm, sunny spot in the garden with well drained soil mixed with well-rotted compost. Dig a hole around 1 foot deep to create a 'compost trench', fill this with kitchen green waste such as fruit and vegetable peelings, add some mulch or just leaves and grass from the garden, and top off with soil. Creating this nutrient-rich base will give the beans the best chance of growing successfully.
Sow your seeds
For bush beans, it is best to plant the seeds in rows around 10 to 15cm (4 to 6 inches) apart, with 45cm (18 inches) left between each row. Using a trowel, drop in 2 seeds about 1 inch apart. To ensure the seeds are planted deeply, aim for around 5cm (2 inches) into the soil. Once they have been planted, cover with soil and water enough to reach the seeds.
Give them some space
These should start to germinate in just 1 to 2 weeks. Once you notice them starting to sprout, thin the seedlings to around 4 to 6 inches apart from each other to allow more space to grow. Due to their nature, bush beans should not need a trellis to help them grow, but you can add one as an option later on.
Water away!
After you have noticed small buds growing, try to water these with at least 2 to 3 inches of water once a week. As an option, you can add more fertiliser or compost once the beans have sprouted, although there should be enough nutrients in the soil from the compost trench.
Pick and enjoy!
As soon as you see a bean that is ready to eat, gently pick it, along with any others. Picking them as soon as they are ready will encourage continuous growth of even more beans. These beans can also be frozen if you find you have grown more than you can eat: boil them for 2 minutes, blanch them in freezing cold water until they naturally cool down, and then place them in freezer bags.
