Besides tomatoes and cucumbers, I am growing green beans, too! I chose a "Bush" type beans (not the kind in cans!) because they don't require supports. Actually, I was drawn by the name, PROVIDER. The package describes the beans are "old time very prolific," but I don't know if this is a heirloom kind.
The seeds look just like regular dry beans. I planted 3 of these in a cell pack and used Miracle Gro(R) Potting Soil. Cell packs are placed at a sunny spot that receives full sun.
Just in 19 days after seeding, large seedlings started to emerge. Isn't it amazing that true leaves already grew underground?
And look how fast they grew! Within a couple days after germination, they already look this big. What's more, long roots were growing out of the bottom of the cell packs by this time!
I procrastinated (what's new, right?), but finally, I transplanted the seedlings to a planter. I used Miracle Gro(R) Potting Soil and placed the planter at the spot that receives full sun through the day. This picture was taken about a month after seeding.
About 2 weeks after I transplanted the seedlings, growth seemed to be slowing down. Hmm...do they not like the soil or the size of the planter? I continue to give lots of water in the morning.
All 3 of them have more new leaves, but they are not much taller than 10 days ago. Although, supposedly, plants don't need support, I put some poles in case they were looking for something to cling.
2 more weeks have passed, but the plants are not much taller. However, I found soft lavender colored buds! Can you see them??
This is how the plants look in 2 months. Not tall, but bushier, and leaves are much larger. Will they grow more, or will they just stop at this height? I hope they really 'provide' many beans!
In a couple of days, flowers started to open. I tried to smell the flowers to see if they smell similar to Sweet Peas but no scent. BORING!
Baby beans, baby beans! They are about toothpick size in this picture, but they look just like the beans I see in supermarkets; they are just micro.
Then, I noticed some curly, browned leaves. It's been very hot in San Diego, so maybe they dried out?
More beans are visible on each plant, and they are growing :)
SEED INFORMATION:
Seeds I bought: Pinetree Garden Seeds' PROVIDER GREEN BUSH BEAN
Origination of the seeds: N/A
According to the package:
* Days to germination: N/A - Mine took about 19 days to germinate
* Days to fruit: 50 days - Mine took 87 days to fruit
* Plant height: N/A - Mine were about 12" high
* Grows best: N/A
* Recommended planting season for San Diego: Unknown - I planted in February.
