How to Grow Beans

There are plenty of Bean varieties to choose from, including bush or dwarf Beans (that don’t require staking), climbing Beans and climbing perennial Scarlet Runner Beans. Broad Beans, also known as faba or fava Beans are a great choice too, but they have a longer maturing time (18-25 weeks) and due to their size, are best in grown garden beds. 

While Beans are available in many different varieties, they are usually largely categorised into two types: dwarf or climbing. 

Climbing varieties (sometimes referred to as pole beans), like Stringless Blue Lake and the colourful purple bean  Purple King need room to grow up a trellis or support, so are great for growing out in the garden. Scarlet Runner Beans are tall-growing perennial climbing beans with vibrant red flowers and long pods.  

If you’re short on space, look for compact varieties of ‘bush’ Beans, such as Heirloom Dwarf Brown Beauty, Dwarf Hawkesbury Wonder or the yellow wax bean Dwarf Bountiful Butter. They’re compact plants that perfect for small garden spaces and large pots. For a bit of colour try Dwarf Borlotti. The cream and red speckled pods can be eaten fresh when young or left on the plant for seeds to mature then use the dry beans for cooking. 

Dwarf or bush Beans produce their entire crop at once (like determinate Tomatoes), while climbing Beans produce a continuous harvest all throughout the season. It’s a good idea to make successive sowings of both varieties to help extend the harvest window. Alternatively, sow bush Beans first and then sow a crop of climbing Beans. 

Broad Beans, like Early Long Pod and Coles Prolific, are shrub-like and are best suited for growing in a vegie patch, with plants growing 1-2 m tall.  

Choose a spot in your garden or vegie patch that receives full sun (at least 6 hours a day) and has well-drained soil. Beans do not tolerate a soggy or wet root system.

Prior to sowing, improve and enrich the soil with a rich source of organic matter like Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser.

Apart from Broad Beans, Bean seeds need soil temperatures to be warm (consistently above 20° C) to germinate, so wait to sow until the weather and soil is warm enough.

Sow Bean seeds into moist soil, at the depth and spacing recommended on the seed pack. For climbing Beans, sow seeds next to a trellis or support. For an ongoing supply of bush and climbing Beans, make successive sowings every few weeks.  

Broad Bean plants can grow up to 2 m tall, and may require some support as they get taller, particularly when they’re laden with pods.

After sowing into moist soil, don’t water again for a few days. Bean seeds can rot before germinating if the soil is too wet. Keep the soil only just moist until seedlings emerge.

As soon as Bean seedlings appear, protect them from snails and slugs with a light sprinkling of Yates Snail & Slug Bait.  If needed, thin seedlings to allow for adequate spacing between plants. 

While the Bean plants grow, keep the soil moist. Regular watering is particularly important during dry weather. It’s best to water around the plants rather than over the leaves, as moisture sitting on the leaves can increase the chance of leaf diseases developing. Spread a layer of organic mulch, like sugarcane or pea straw, over the soil to help conserve soil moisture and suppress weeds. 

When flowers appear, feed every 1–2 weeks with Yates Thrive Flower & Fruit Soluble Plant Food. It’s a fast-acting soluble fertiliser that’s boosted with extra potassium to encourage lots of flowers and Beans. 

Most Beans are generally ready for harvest 8-10 weeks from sowing. For the best taste and texture, harvest young pods while they’re tender and sweet. For Climbing Beans, harvest regularly to encourage new flowers and pods. 

When growing Borlotti Beans for the dry beans, leave the pods on the plant until they are mature and have dried out. The pods can then be shelled and the dry beans inside removed. Store these beans in an airtight container for future cooking.  

Broad Beans take 18-25 weeks to mature. Pods can be picked while they’re young (they can be sliced, cooked and eaten like a green vegetable), or left to develop the beans inside. 

Beans can be grown successfully in medium to large sized pots. Choose a pot at least 30 cm in diameter that has good drainage holes. Place in a position that receives at least 6 hours of sunshine a day.

Fill the pot with a good quality premium potting mix like Yates Premium Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter.

Dwarf varieties, like Dwarf Brown Beauty, Bountiful Butter, Stringless Pioneer and Borlotti are ideal for growing in pots and don’t need a trellis or support to grow up. 

Sow Bean seeds into moist potting mix, at the depth and spacing recommended on the seed pack.  

After sowing into moist potting mix, don’t water again for a few days. Bean seeds can rot before germinating if the potting mix is too wet. Keep the mix only just moist until seedlings emerge.  

As soon as seedlings appear, protect them from snails and slugs with a light sprinkling of Yates Snail & Slug Bait. If needed, thin seedlings to allow for adequate spacing between plants. 

While the Bean plants grow, keep the potting mix moist. It’s best to water around the plants rather than over the leaves, as moisture sitting on the leaves can increase the chance of leaf diseases developing. Spreading a layer of organic mulch, like sugarcane or pea straw, over the potting mix will help conserve soil moisture and suppress weeds. 

When flowers appear, feed every 1–2 weeks with Yates Thrive Flower & Fruit Soluble Plant Food. It’s a fast-acting soluble fertiliser that’s boosted with extra potassium to encourage lots of flowers and Beans. 

For green Beans, harvest young pods while they’re tender and crisp. When growing Borlotti Beans for the seeds, leave the pods on the plant until they are mature and have dried out. The pods can then be shelled and the dry beans inside removed. 

For climbing Beans, install a sturdy support system – bamboo stakes fashioned into an A-frame or teepee, wire mesh or similar – for the vines to climb. Broad Beans also require staking for support. Growing 1-2 m tall, their stems often become weighed down with pods.

While there is no need to stake dwarf bean varieties, if the crop is heavy with pods, ‘hill’ or pile the soil up around the base of the plants for support.

You can grow climbing Beans on a tepee using a pyramid of bamboo poles or tomato stakes. Use 5-10 poles/stakes that are 1.5 m or longer. Tie them together with twine, securing them 10-15 cm away from the tip. Push the other end of each pole/stake into the soil in the shape of a circle. Push the pole/stake far enough into the soil so they’re stable, secure and even. Lastly, wind the twine down and around the tepee to give the climbing Beans plants extra places to climb, and to help strengthen the tepee.

When Beans are sown at the right time of year for your climate, they’re grown in a sunny position and are well watered, they should start flowering in 8-10 weeks (from 18 weeks for Broad Beans). To encourage flowering in healthy plants, feed each week with a potassium rich fertiliser like Yates Thrive Flower & Fruit Soluble Plant Food. It’s a fast-acting soluble fertiliser that’s boosted with extra potassium to encourage lots of flowers and pods.

Broad Beans will often produce flowers for a long time over late winter and early spring, and not set pods. This is quite normal, and pods will start to form during warm weather. If low temperatures are experienced in early spring, some bud drop may also occur. This is natural and new flowers will quickly follow.

Beans can be grown all across Australia but it’s important to sow Beans at the correct time of the year for your climate. In both tropical and subtropical climates, most dwarf and climbing Beans can be sown all year round, however, do best when sown in the cooler months of the year to avoid the worst of the summer heat. Stringless Blue Lake is one of the best climbing Bean varieties for hot weather and is a heavy cropper. In temperate and cool regions, Beans can be sown from spring through to mid-late summer.  

Scarlet Runner Beans are not suitable to grow in the tropics and sub-tropics. In cool and temperate climates, start sowing seed in late spring.  

In warm climates sow Broad Beans in late autumn and early winter.  

In temperate and cool regions, Beans can be sown from spring through to mid-late summer. The exception to this is Broad Beans, which should be sown during the cooler weather of autumn and winter.  

Sow Bean seeds direct where the plants are to grow as seedlings don’t tolerate transplanting well. Beans seeds are thankfully large, making them easy to handle and sow.  

Check the seed packet of your chosen Bean, which includes details on the best sowing times in your area.

Dwarf and Climbing Bean seeds need warm soils to germinate. So, wait until the weather and soil have warmed up to sow seed. Also, don’t over-water newly sown seed. If the soil is too wet, it can rot the seeds before they germinate.   

Whiteflies and Aphids are common, small, sap-sucking insect pests of Beans. Whiteflies are tiny winged insects that fly away quickly when disturbed. Aphids are small brown, green, yellow or black insects that often cluster on new leaves. An Aphid infestation is often accompanied by Ants. Whiteflies and Aphids can cause leaves to yellow, and Aphids lead to distorted leaves. 

Control Whiteflies and Aphids with Baythroid Advanced Garden Pest Insect Killer Ready to Use Spray. Spray the foliage thoroughly, including the undersides, and repeat spray as required. 

Beans can be vulnerable to Snails & Slugs, particularly when the plants are young. Leaves and stems can be chewed or entire plants devoured.

Protect seedlings from snails and slugs with Yates Snail and Slug Bait. As soon as seedlings appear, apply a light sprinkling of Yates Snail & Slug Bait around the plants. Ongoing protection from Snails and Slugs may be required, particularly if the weather is damp. 

Yellowing leaves can be an indication of a disease called  Powdery Mildew. Leaves may also develop white powdery spots. Affected plants can become unhealthy and the harvest will be reduced.

Beans are susceptible to fungal diseases like Blight and Rust. Blight appears as brown or black spots on leaves and pods. Bean Rust appears as orange powdery spots on leaves and pods. Blight and Rust affected plants can become unhealthy and pods inedible.  

Help reduce the likelihood of diseases developing by spacing plants adequately to allow for lots of light and air flow. Avoid watering the leaves (water the soil directly instead) and minimise water splashing up onto the leaves 

As soon as diseases are noticed, dust the plants lightly with Yates Tomato and Vegetable Dust. It will control common diseases like Powdery Mildew, Rust and Blight. Reapply every 7-10 days.  

The great thing about Beans is that they are part of the legume family and ‘fix’ or capture nitrogen from the atmosphere. When your plants are done for the season, dig them out and add to the compost heap, or cut them up and dig their organic matter into the garden bed to enrich the soil. 

To help reduce the build-up of pests and diseases, practice crop rotation. Grow Beans in a different part of the garden each year, leaving at least a two year break between Bean crops. As Beans are nitrogen fixers, nitrogen-loving leafy green vegetables like Lettuce, Spinach and Silverbeet are ideal to grow after Beans.