Most of the plants we grow in our vegetable gardens provide us plenty of nutrients in the form of vitamins and other micronutrients. Very few provide protein. One family of plants, legumes, does provide significant amounts of protein, along with dietary fiber. Dried beans like navy beans, black beans, pinto beans, lima beans, great northern beans, kidney beans and adzuki beans are an easy-to-grow source of protein.
Dried beans are planted and grown in the same way as the familiar bush bean or pole bean. Their large seeds make them a good choice for new gardeners and children.
Beans need a spot that gets at least six hours of sun a day, but more sun is better. Wait until the soil warms and dries in spring or early summer, because the seeds are prone to rot if planted in cool, moist soil. The seed packet provides information about seed spacing and planting depth.
Bush beans grow about 18 inches tall and are planted as a row crop. Pole beans require some kind of structure for the beans to climb upon.
The pole bean climbing structure needs to be taller than you might think – the vines may grow to six or eight feet. It must be very sturdy. The weight of the vines and the beans is tremendous. Add the weight of rain water and the force of wind during a storm and a flimsy structure will have your beans lying in the dirt. A traditional way of supporting pole beans is to lean and tie tall stakes together in teepee fashion. Another option is to space tall poles along a row and string strong rope every foot or so between the poles for the beans to climb on.
Once plants have germinated, a light mulch can be placed around them, not touching the stems, to control weeds and hold soil moisture.
Instead of picking the bean pods throughout the growing season, they are left on the plants until the leaves fall off the plants and the pods are dry enough that the beans rattle inside them. This will likely be after the first fall frost. The seed packet will list the days to maturity for the bean you choose, but the range for dried beans is 70 to 120 days from planting to harvest.
After harvest, remove beans from pods and store them in a cool, dry place for up to one year. If the pods aren’t quite dry at harvest, spread them on a screen or newspaper in a warm location until they are crisp. Remember to save some of the beans to use as seed for next year’s crop.
There are many dried bean varieties to choose from. Along with the “regulars” listed above, there are heirloom beans that have pods from 3 to 14 inches in length and produce beans in an array of colors – red, pink, blue, purple, black, brown, cream, green – sometimes with pretty streaks or speckles.
Leave a Reply