About Pole Beans
Pole Beans vs. Bush Beans: The Case for Pole Beans
Snap beans on short, compact plants are usually called bush beans; those on tall climbing vines are called pole beans. Both have been grown for centuries by many cultures, but pole beans are closer to the wild form of the species, while bush beans were deliberately bred for a dwarf habit. A few points can help you decide which suits your garden or farm.
Where pole beans come out ahead:
- Pole beans generally eat better than even the best bush beans: sweeter, richer, more tender, and slower to turn tough and stringy.
- They bear over a longer stretch, since the big vines keep producing well after more determinate bush types finish. Picked regularly, a planting typically yields well for about three weeks.
- With their indeterminate, upward growth, they produce more beans from the same ground than bush types.
- Because the pods hang at standing height, picking means far less stooping.
Where bush beans come out ahead:
- Pole beans take more time and money up front because they need a trellis.
- On average they mature somewhat later than bush beans.
- Bush beans are better when you want the harvest concentrated into a short window.
Selecting the Right Pole Bean Varieties For Your Needs • Flat Pod, Round Pod & Yard-Longs
Next to bush beans, pole beans come in a much wider range of types. Besides ordinary snap beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), you'll find yard-long beans (Vigna unguiculata), scarlet runners (Phaseolus coccineus), limas (Phaseolus lunatus) and others. Snap types alone vary widely in pod shape, size and color.
Pictured, left to right: 'Fortex', 'Monte Gusto', 'Carminat', 'Northeaster', 'Seychelles', 'Helda', 'Cobra', 'Marvel of Venice', 'Red Noodle', 'Python'.
-
Flats
For sweet, tender, broad Romano-style beans, try the early organic 'Northeaster'. -
Rounds
For very long, slim pods, try the popular 'Fortex', which can be picked at 7" as a filet bean and stays tender and stringless even at 11". Its eating quality is outstanding. -
Yard-longs
Yard-long beans come from the tropics and subtropics and belong to a different genus and species (Vigna unguiculata) than bush (Phaseolus vulgaris) or lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus). They are best eaten cooked. Try the sweet, elegant 'Python', or the striking 'Red Noodle'.
Trellising
Stakes and twine make a simple, effective pole bean trellis.
Plan the trellis before planting. A few choices:
- Set steel or wooden posts 10–12' apart. Once plants reach about 6", run twine along one side of the row, looping it around each post to the end, then come back along the other side. Add another run every 12" up the posts as the vines climb (see diagram).
- Another common setup: posts 10–12' apart with Hortonova netting stapled or tied between them, which is even quicker.
- In a home garden, a sturdy collapsible bean tower about 5' tall can hold around a dozen plants and folds away for winter.
- Gardeners can also make a tepee from three poles lashed together at the top. To use the space well, sow lettuce, parsley or radishes in the middle before planting the beans.
Wire panels, arches and tunnels, and bamboo canes all work well as supports too.
4 Steps to Pole Bean Success
-
Step 1.
Wait to plant until frost danger is over and the soil stays at 60°F (16°C) or warmer. An inoculant isn't required but may boost yield. Dark-seeded beans tolerate cool soil better than white-seeded ones, so they can go in a little earlier in cooler areas. -
Step 2.
Option A: Open furrows about 1" deep and 60–80" apart. Sow 4–6 seeds per foot (roughly 2–3" apart), no more than 1" deep.
Option B: Lay plastic mulch, then punch in 3 seeds every 8" through the plastic. It's quick and gives an even stand, though many home gardeners prefer Option A.
-
Step 3.
Put the trellis up over clean, weeded soil. On bare ground in commercial plantings, a close tractor cultivation before setting posts makes later weed control easier. Plastic or biodegradable mulch laid before planting also keeps weeds down.
-
Step 4.
Beans do very well on drip irrigation in dry spells. Drip uses less water and helps keep leaf diseases down. Water deeply and less often rather than in frequent light doses, since constant surface moisture favors stem and root diseases such as Pythium damping-off organisms, which do best in cool, wet soil.
For more growing details, see our Pole Beans • Key Growing Information
Succession Planting
Pole beans are rewarding because one planting bears for quite a while. For an even steadier supply, plant another block every few weeks during the planting season. Our Succession Planting Calculator (xlxs) helps you set planting dates from your expected first fall frost and each variety's days to maturity.
High Tunnel/Greenhouse Production
Phil Foster Ranches' Pinnacle Organic Produce in San Juan Bautista and Hollister, California, run by Phil and Katherine Foster, is a well-known commercial grower whose pole beans have a loyal following.
Their first pole beans go in during late January, with 'Northeaster' started under cover early in the season for extra warmth. April sowings go outdoors so the tunnels can be used for crops like tomatoes, and when summer ends the beans return to the tunnels for August and September sowings, with picking running into December.
That schedule works in coastal California. In New England, planting before May is rare even in an unheated tunnel, because beans need frost-free weather and soil at 60°F (16°C) or above.
As their example shows, tunnels and greenhouses can stretch the bean season much earlier and later than the field allows. In wet climates they also keep the vines dry, cutting down on disease.
Companion Planting in the Home Garden
Pole beans can also be grown with their traditional "sister" crops, corn and squash (or another vining cucurbit such as cucumbers). Plant about three bean seeds at the base of each corn plant once the stalks are about a foot tall; the beans climb the corn while the squash or cucumber vines sprawl around them. This interplanting works in market plantings and home gardens alike.
Recommended Pole Bean Varieties
'Fortex' pole beans
Two pole beans we especially like:
'Fortex' stands out for its length and for staying tender so long, and for its rich, slightly sweet, classic bean flavor. If you prefer a more traditional snap bean, try 'Seychelles': it's early and vigorous, and its pods hang in clusters that make picking quick. Grow both and see which suits your farm or garden.
