Beans and Peas Are Easy to Grow And Produce a Wealth of Food

by Jack P. Meiners and John M. Kraft.

J. P. Meiners is Chief, Applied Plant Pathology Laboratory, Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, Md. John M. Kraft is Research Plant Pathologist, Agricultural Research Service, Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, Prosser, Wash.

Beans and peas are among the most satisfying vegetables for home garden growing and eating. The seeds are planted directly in the garden, and germinate rapidly to give rise to plants that grow quickly and vigorously. This gives even the beginning gives beginning gardener a feeling of accomplishment. In fact, beans and peas should be in every garden because they are easy to grow and provide a wealth of food.

When we speak merely of beans and peas we are over-simplifying the situation regarding legumes of interest to the home gardener. Actually, he can choose from several types of legumes, all of which make tasty and nutritious food for the family.

Beans may include snap or string beans, dry beans, and lima beans. Peas include garden pea also called English pea and southernpea, also known as cowpea.

Beans and peas are discussed together in this section because, botanically speaking, they are related. Both are members of the legume family, which bear the characteristic butterfly-like flowers and have the capacity with the help of bacteria in the root nodules to take nitrogen out of the air. Otherwise, beans and peas differ from each other somewhat in culture. Most beans and southern pea are warm weather plants while growing garden pea requires cool growing conditions.

Snap Beans

Snap bean is one of several types of bean known collectively as "common bean" and by the scientific name, Phaseolus vulgaris. The home gardener may grow several kinds de- pending upon how he plans to use the product.

Those grown for the immature pods are known variously as "snap" beans, "string'' beans, "green'' beans, "French" beans, or "garden" beans. Other types grown for the immature seeds are known as "green shell" beans, and still others grown for the mature seeds are called "dry" beans. All the types are similar in requirements for growing in the garden.

Snap beans, used when the pods are immature, need only a short growing season and thus are favored by most home gardeners.

The common bean probably originated in Central America, but has been cultivated throughout much of North and South America by the Indians since prehistoric times. Because the seeds were easily carried and stored, and because beans grew well in a variety of climates, they were widely distributed by the explorers and now are widely grown throughout the world.

The Indians probably consumed beans primarily in the dry or green shell state, and early varieties of snap beans were stringy hence the term "string" beans. The tender, stringless and nearly fiberless varieties we know today were developed within the last 50 years.

Snap beans are a good source of vitamins A and C, thiamine, and riboflavin. They are also a good source of calcium and iron.

Snap beans are a warm season crop and easily injured by frost. The first of several successive plantings should be made at about the time of the average frost-free date for your area. Usually there is not much to be gained by planting earlier, since early planted beans require longer to mature and there is the risk that seed may rot in the cold soil, with additional delay if reseeding becomes necessary.

Tendercrop snap bean is mosaic-resistant and heavy yielding. It has tender, round, green pods and wide range of adaptability.

Snap beans grow best where the average maximum temperature does not exceed 85 F and the average minimum temperature does not go below 50 , but the most desirable range is between 70 and 80 . Very high temperatures lower the yield due to blossom drop.

The soil should be warm at planting time. Snap bean seed germinates poorly at soil temperatures below 50 F and the optimum range is between 60 and 85 .

In the lower South and Southwest, snap beans may be grown during all seasons except mid-winter, but should not be planted so that podding occurs when weather is too hot or cold.

Snap beans grow well in a wide range of soils, the best being those that are well drained and reasonably fertile. The physical nature of the soil should be friable and not interfere with emergence. Upon germination, the two large seed halves or cotyledons must emerge through the soil and they can be seriously hampered by compact or crusted soil.

If your soil is very heavy you may need to cover the seed with sand, peat, leaf mulch, or other material that will not form a crust. Should a crust form following planting, it may be necessary to break it to allow the seedlings to emerge from the soil. If you live in an area of heavy rainfall you may need to plant beans on raised beds to get proper drainage.

Snap beans are not heavy users of water but require a constant supply. One inch per week is sufficient on most types of soils. An adequate supply of moisture is important from bud formation to pod set. Excessive or too little moisture may cause blossom and pod drop. If soil is too dry at planting time, it is preferable to irrigate first, then plant.