Crops & Breeds › Vegetable Garden
🫘 Beans
Vegetable Garden · growing reference
| Days to maturity | 55 days – 95 days, by type |
|---|---|
| Germination | 8 days |
| Direct sowing | +7 days vs transplants |
| Spacing | 4″ in the row × 24″ between rows |
| Planted as | seed |
| Water | ~1–1.5 in a week |
When to plant
In USDA zone 6, for example: Plant out around Apr 22, once your last frost has passed. Start seeds indoors ~5 weeks earlier.
| Spring | Fall | |
|---|---|---|
| Zone 3 | May 22 | Jul 13 |
| Zone 4 | May 14 | Jul 18 |
| Zone 5 | May 3 | Jul 31 |
| Zone 6 | Apr 22 | Aug 12 |
| Zone 7 | Apr 8 | Sep 2 |
| Zone 8 | Mar 22 | Sep 17 |
| Zone 9 | Feb 27 | Oct 2 |
Dates are the typical window for each zone's average frost dates — your own last frost can differ by a couple of weeks. Zone 10 and warmer is effectively frost-free: plant to the season, not the frost. Southern Hemisphere: shift six months.
Bean Types
- Snap · 55 days · 0.5–1.5 lbs/plant — Green beans — pick young, tender pods.
- Dry · 95 days · 0.1–0.2 lbs/plant — Same plant, left to mature — let pods dry on the vine, then shell.
- Runner · 70 days · 1–2 lbs/plant — Big seeds, cool-tolerant — pick young for snaps or dry for shelling.
- Lima · 75 days · 0.3–0.8 lbs/plant — Wants warm soil (65°F+); shelled for the seeds. Bush limas are quicker than pole.
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