Learn to grow pole beans the green way

A favourite with vegetable gardeners, the snap bean is easy to grow, prolific, and nutritious. Both green and yellow snap beans and can be grown in any good soil, either as bushy plants or as pole beans. We'll teach you how.

• 'Kentucky Wonder' and the smaller-seeded 'Blue Lake' are two of the most popular green pole beans.
• 'Romano' (also called Italian pole bean) is a broad, flat bean that matures somewhat earlier than most other pole varieties.
• 'Neckargold' is yellow, and 'Blauhilde' grows purple beans that turn green when boiled.
• For shelling and drying, 'Oregon Giant' is a popular variety.

• With sufficient nutrients, pole-bean plants will produce for much of the summer. Before planting, work in a 3 centimetre (1 inch) layer of rich compost or well-rotted manure.  Don't apply a fertilizer with a high nitrogen count or you'll grow enormously leafy plants with few beans.
• You'll need to build a support system for your pole beans that can bear the weight of the plants and hold up in a high wind. Most gardeners use lumberyard stakes or rough wood poles with the bark left on them to provide a grip for the vines. Sdet the poles 1 metre (3 feet) apart in rows 1 - 1.2 metres (3 - 4 feet) apart, an drive them 60 centimetres (25 inches) deep into the soil.
• If you're planting the beans in the corner of your garden, drive three poles into the ground in the shape of a triangle and tie them securely at the top, teepee fashion.
• A tall chicken-wire trellis or solid fence can also be used as a support. Be sure that it's on the north side of your garden where it will cast the least shade. Anchor the trellis solidly in the ground so that it can withstand the wind after it's laden with vines.
• Once you've built your support, sow the seeds 3 - 5 centimetres (1 - 1.5 inches) deep. Along a fence or trellis, sow seeds 5 centimetres (2 inches) apart and thin the seedlings later to 10 - 15 centimetres (4 - 6 inches).
• For pole growing, sow six seeds around each pole. Thin to the four strongest seedlings.

• When the pole-bean plants begin to climb, help them up their support by winding their curly, climbing stems onto their pole or wire fencing in the same direction as the curl.
• Add compost or a balanced fertilizer blend in midseason in a band 15 centimetres (6 inches) from the plants or in a ring around the poles.
• Water well at ground level, being careful not to wet the plants. A thick mulch will help keep moisture in the soil and discourage weeds.

• For the best flavour, pole beans should be large and thick when you harvest them.
• To ensure a continuous crop, harvest all the pods as soon as they seem mature. The more you pick, the more you'll harvest.
• As with bush beans, pick carefully by holding the fruiting stems with one hand as you pluck a pod with the other. If you pull off the beans roughly, you run the risk of injuring the vine.
• Dried pole beans are good for use in soup and stews, and they can be kept stored in sealed jars for several months.

Beans are a relatively simple crop to grow, and they're both highly productive and extremely delicious. So add some beans to your garden the next chance you get and enjoy a bountiful and tasty harvest.