![]() ![]() Use row covers to protect plants from Japanese beetles. Products that use iron phosphate as their active ingredient are considered organic. Slugs are easily trapped in shallow containers filled with beer or a mixture of sugar water and yeast, or you can treat the area with a slug bait approved for food gardens in order to bring serious infestations under control. Slugs and snails often make holes in bean leaves, and Japanese beetles like to eat leaves, too. After snap beans have been growing in your garden for a couple of weeks, their stems become so tough that cutworms can no longer damage them. Another easy way to prevent cutworm damage is to use small strips of aluminum foil to sheathe the base of each stem. Pop them around the plants, making sure you push them into the soil about an inch deep. To make cutworm collars, cut an 8- to 10-ounce plastic cup or similar size container into 3-inch-tall rings. The easiest way to prevent cutworm damage is to encircle each plant with a rigid "collar" as soon as it is transplanted. These earth-colored caterpillars are active at night, and often kill seedlings by girdling their main stems, making them look like little felled trees. New garden beds made in areas that were previously covered with grass often host a hidden danger for snap beans: cutworms. Mulch also helps keep the pods clean, which is a terrific convenience with snap beans. Keep beans weeded, and mulch over the spaces between plants to conserve moisture and reduce problems with weeds. By teaming up with bacteria in the soil, beans create their own nitrogen – the most important nutrient plants require if they are to make strong new growth. When given a little starter fertilizer and biologically active compost, beans usually need no further feeding. You can also fertilize snap bean plants when initially watering the plants, using a water-soluble plant food like Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® Edibles Plant Nutrition. For a steady harvest all summer, set out a second set of plants 3 to 4 weeks after your first planting.īefore setting out the plants, though, mix several inches of compost or aged compost-enriched Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics®All Purpose In-Ground Soil into the soil to add nutrition and improve the soil texture. A double row, in which 2 rows of plants are grown with 12 inches between the rows, will produce the most beans per square foot. ![]() Wait until after your last frost has passed to set out the plants, then space them about 8 inches apart. Start with strong young bean plants from Bonnie Plants®, the company that has been helping home gardeners grow successfully for over a century. Snap beans are easy to grow in most warm, well-drained soil, but they must have warmth. Harvest beans every other day once they are large enough to eat.Take steps to prevent cutworms, slugs, and snails.Add a 3-inch layer of mulch to keep pods clean, retain soil moisture, and prevent weeds.For best results, feed snap beans regularly with a water-soluble plant food.Water in gently and keep soil consistently moist throughout the growing season by watering when the top inch of soil becomes dry.Before planting, improve native soil by mixing in several inches of compost or other rich organic matter.For the highest production, arrange them in double rows. Space bean plants 8 inches apart in a warm, sunny spot in your garden that has fertile, well-drained soil.Plant snap beans in spring after the last frost and once the soil is warm.They are good for spaces where you don't have the height for a bean trellis. Bush-type beans such as Blue Lake need less up-front set-up and are fast and easy to pick. Pole-type beans such as asparagus bean need a sturdy tall trellis to hold the plants. Snap beans mature quickly, too, and almost everyone – including kids – loves fresh snap beans.Īre all snap beans alike? Not at all! Snap beans come in a huge range of sizes and colors because any immature bean with pods that taste good when "snapped" into pieces is a snap bean. Dependable and easy to care for, snap beans are also among the most productive veggies you can grow. Whether you are planting your first vegetable garden or have years of experience behind you, growing snap beans should be at the top of your garden to-do list. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |