Green bean container Gardening [Complete Guide]

Green beans are also known as spring beans or snap beans. This is a very easy to grow vegetable whether you grow it in your garden ground or a container. They grow well in warm temperatures so the best time to grow them is spring to summer when the temperature is warm and ideal for its good growth. Green Bean Container Gardening is the best way you can get a fresh growth of greenery in your garden and also serve a ton of benefits. Let us learn more about Green Beans and how you can grow them in your garden.

How to Grow Green Beans in containers? How many green bean plants can be grown in a 5-gallon bucket? Do beans like the full sun? How many beans will one plant produce? Final Thoughts

Benefits of Green Beans

Not only are they very easy to grow but also they are good in taste and have amazing nutritional benefits. They are crunchy vegetables rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, folic acid, dietary fiber, vitamin K, folate, etc.

In addition to that, they are low in calories so it’s a good option for maintaining your weight also. The nutrients it has in it are also very good for maintaining the health of your hair, skin, and bones. So basically it is congenial for a healthy body.

Green Beans are good for maintaining the overall health of your body by helping you in heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and even cancer. They have a high amount of chlorophyll content in them. Apparently they even promote the fertility rate of women as they provide iron-on consumption that is good for pregnancy.

This energy giving vegetable also helps maintain your red blood cells by providing iron to your body that in turn transports oxygen from your lungs to all parts of the body thereby increasing your energy.

It is good if you want to have a clean and healthy diet for weight loss as it provides you energy together with being low in calories. They are also very good at maintaining a good vision and healthy eyesight.

Wooden Raised Bed for Planting Vegetables and Herbs

Green bean container Gardening

Together with being super nutritious green beans are also super easy to grow. They can be grown in both your lawn ground or in containers and pots. Green beans are very popularly grown due to its ease in growing and benefits.

Green Beans grow in the warm season and can be grown both indoors and outdoors. Being an urban gardener you can opt to plant them in containers in your home balcony or even indoors as growing beans in containers will save you space and will also prevent them from being trampled by rabbits and such neighboring pets.

Types of Green Beans

There are many varieties of Green beans however two of them are very popular namely Bush beans and pole beans.

Bush Beans

Bush beans are also called dwarf beans. They are a common choice of beans that are grown by farmers. They are called dwarf beans because they are short in size and are sturdy. Such beans are not the vining variety of plants rather they grow in bushes form and grow up to 2 feet in height.

Since they don’t need to be taken care of the vining and supporting properties of other types, they are often the choice to go for the gardeners that are just beginning to grow plants and even those gardeners who don’t want vines in the containers.

In the bush bean type of green beans, some of the good varieties that you can choose from are Contender, Mascotte, Kentucky Bean, Purple Teepee, and Top crop.

Pole Beans

This type of green beans is the ones that vines and need a support system to vine on as they grow. Contrary to the bush beans they are not short in height rather they usually grow tall and long.

Also if they get good support for its vining they tend to keep vining and growing all over to the height as may be provided so are also called runner beans or vining snap beans and can grow up to 8 to 10 feet tall. For the support system, you can use trellis, teepee, netting, and towers, and such kinds of supports.

It is mostly the option of choice for the urban gardeners mostly because it takes a vertical space and urban houses tend to have some shortage of space. Therefore the tall vertical vines save up space together with growing tall and looking beautiful in the vine form.

Also, it is quite easy to harvest. Some of the varieties that you can choose from are Blue lake, Kentucky wonder, Algarve, and golden gate.

How to Grow Green Beans in containers?

Green beans can be grown for both garden grounds and containers. However, here we are going to discuss how we can do Green bean container Gardening, so let’s get started.

Plant type to grow

So, first of all, let’s talk about the type of beans that you should grow.

There are two types of beans namely bush beans and pole beans. Bush beans grow in the form of bush and grow up to 2 feet whereas pole beans are vine runners and grow taller with a good support system up to 8 feet tall.
You can also choose green beans according to the edible part you want, that is the bean pods or the bean seeds, and you can choose the plant according to how you prefer to eat that is fresh pods, fresh seeds or dried seeds.
Bush beans are annual vegetables therefore choose your bean accordingly. However, the growth time difference between bush beans and pole beans can also be chosen depending upon your preference. Bush beans take around seven to eight weeks to grow from seeds versus pole beans that take around twelve weeks to grow from planting seeds.

Therefore you can choose the variety of bean according to the type and according to your location and preferences.

Container type

The container that you use for beans should be having a depth that is enough for the beans to grow properly. However, the depth of the container will differ according to the type of beans that you are growing. For bush beans, the container depth should be for at least 6 to 7 inches, and for the pole beans, the depth should be at least 8 to 9 inches.
The size of the container also should be large is you are growing beans. Large containers can hold more soil and can also retain moisture for a longer time.
The containers you use can be pots made up of terracotta or even you can use old wooden boxes and barrels as containers. One tip that can benefit your plants is to use pots that are not coated or glossy as it will help in maintaining the moisture content by being conducive towards evaporation and thereby preventing roots from rotting.
The beans need a well-drained soil therefore make sure that your container contains 2-3 drainage holes. However, don’t let the holes be too big. In order to prevent the soil from being leaking from the bottom of the pot, you can use mesh or wires. You can also add pebbles at the bottom to help in that.

Season and temperature requirements

Green beans are annual plants and grow in warm temperatures. So according to the zone of America, you live in you must pick the right time to grow beans. The temperature requirement for growing beans is from 65 degrees to 85 degrees. So choose the time of the year where you get such kind of subtropical climate.
Bean seeds are planted directly into the soil for germination so ensure that the soil is not below 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21-degree Celsius) as if the temperature goes down the beans being a warm-weather plant will rot and not survive. So make sure that the soil is warm.
The warm temperature usually comes at the end of spring so it will be best to grow after early spring when the frost has completely melted and soil starts to be warm. Don’t rush to plant the seeds in the early spring. Wait till the temperature warms up to create good conditions for growth.
However, since you are using container gardening you have an added benefit to creating the conditions of warm weather at home as well if the same is not the case outside as of yet. You can keep the pot indoors and create conditions to keep the soil warm.

Soil Requirements

Using a good quality of soil is extremely important and crucial for the good growth of bean plants. The soil type can be a good potting mix of Clay or silt loam soil. For Green bean container gardening, you can either buy a potting mix from the market or you can also make your own at home. It is more cost-effective if you plan to use them in more containers as well. For making it on your own you can coarse sand, garden loam, and post in equal parts with some organic manure and mix them all properly. Also using equal parts of peat moss and pasteurized soil in equal parts can be used as well. The green beans require a good potting mix so ensure to use organic compost while planting for sure.
The pH level of soil that is ideal for growing green beans is between 6 to 7. That is from neutral to a little acidic. In order to check that you can use pH strips to check the soil.
Make sure that the soil is well-drained by using sand in the potting mix as the plant needs moisture but too much water retention can cause the plant roots to rot. In addition to it providing drainage holes in the pots can ensure the soil is well-drained as mentioned.

Seed Sowing

Now that you have all the things you need to start with, take the container and fill in the soil up to 2-3 inches from the rim of the pot.
Add some water to the soil to make it moist before sowing in the seeds.
If you are planting pole beans you must prove the support system of bamboo, trellis, or towers at the beginning itself so that the roots don’t get affected if you plant to do it later on. However, if you are planting bush beans it is not required.
Now you can take your bean seeds that you can buy locally or even online and sow them in the soil up to 2 inches deep and cover them gently by topping with soil and then put them in a sunny place and let them grow.

Spacing

It is essential to take care of the spacing of the seeds since the plants need proper space to grow to the full potential. For bush beans, you must space your seeds 4 to 5 inches apart and for the pole beans, you must space the seeds 2 – 3 inches apart.

The spacing is good to be provided early on so that when later on the roots get developed they don’t get damaged in the process of spacing them.

Sun requirement

Green beans are warm temperature vegetables. For green bean container gardening, they will require full exposure to the sun for its good growth. Direct sunlight of 8 hours daily will be good for thriving. So keep the pot in a place where it can get 6 – 8 hours of direct sunlight every day.

Also if possible see to it that the plant keeps getting good sunlight throughout as they grow.

Water requirement

The bean plants need moderate water for good growth. While sowing the seeds water the soil moderately to help the seeds germinate well and grow.

Make sure to water the plant regularly for at least the first 2-3 weeks of sowing the seeds. Whenever the topsoil feels dry add more water to the plant later on since they will need good watering for better growth and flowering.

You can check if the topsoil of an inch or two is dry or not. If it is dry add water. It will need good watering for good flowering for growing to its full potential and also for giving good yields. However, make sure you don’t overwater the plants as that may create waterlogging in the pot and not be congenial for the roots.

Growth Time

The average time for the beans to mature is 50-70 days. But it depends on the kind and variety of beans you are growing. When you are planting the seeds make sure you do it in such a time that the harvesting time does not fall during the first frost time as it might damage the crop since they are warm-weather vegetables.

So, plan the crop accordingly such that it matures when the climate is still warm and winter has not arrived yet. You can also grow several plants in succession while preparing for green bean container gardening so that you can keep getting your harvest at intervals.

Fertilizer

For feeding your beans you can use a slow-release fertilizer in the potting mix at the time of planting the seeds. So in alteration to that you can also use a good liquid fertilizer every month for feeding the plants. You can also use compost manure in place of liquid fertilizer.

Take care to feed your plants in moderation because too much feeding can result in good growth of leaves and foliage and that can in turn result in less production of yield.

Pests and disease

Once you have managed to grow green beans which was an easy task and as you are providing proper conditions for the growth of the plant that is adequate sunlight, water and fertilizers you should also keep a check on the pests and plant disease that might be the one factor to ruin your beautiful crop.

Pests and insects like aphids, slugs, and snails, bean leaf beetles, etc can cause your bean plant to damage so make sure you tackle them with proper pesticides and insecticides without damaging the crop. One way that you can overcome this issue is by simply using strong sprays of water on the pant to get rid of aphids. Alternatively, you can also spray horticulture soap. You can track if the plant has beetles as they live on the opposite side of the leaves and also cause tiny holes all over them. To handle that you can handpick them and put them in soap water.
Some diseases of the plant can be BCMV or the Bean Common Mosaic Virus and also bean rusts. So for that, you can water the plant at ground level in order to prevent it from splashing. You can ensure that the plant has proper air circulation and also you must see to it that you use a resistant variety of the plant.
Sometimes you should also weed your plant if required.
You should also Prune the top leaves of the pole beans sometimes so that they can use the energy for giving more yields.

Harvesting

The harvesting for bush beans will be a little different from the harvesting of pole beans. The bean pods usually are mature to be harvested when they get to the size of 3-5 inches long. It depends on the variety you are growing and also on the growing conditions of the beans.

However is it ideal to pick them from the pod when they get 3-5 inches tall and are smooth and tender? If you wait for them to get too long there is a chance that they can get tough.

Harvesting can usually be done after 45 to 65 days from a seedling in full sunlight. But again it depends upon the variety and growing conditions.

Bush beans usually give the harvest all at once in their high growth season. They give lots of pods all at once and then they stop. For harvesting bush beans just pick the beans from the pods simply however you have to search for the beans inside the leafy bushes.
Pole beans on the contrary continue to give yield in the high production season. So the ideal situation is the more often you pick them the more often you get. They have long periods of yield as compared to bush beans so you can regularly pick fresh beans in the growing season. In Fact, if you pick beans regularly you are helping the plant to increase its productivity and you are also extending the growing season for the plant.

So hope you get a good harvest in the growing season not only for yourself but also for your family, friends and neighbors. You can consume beans in salads, or by making vegetable recipes and even you can fry and bake them.

How many green bean plants can be grown in a 5-gallon bucket?

Using containers and buckets for growing beans is a great choice of option if you don’t have a garden ground. Not only does it require a lot of space but it is also protected from any trampling that may be caused by rabbits and such animals in the garden Buckets and containers are popular options for gardening especially for urban gardeners.

So if you have a 5-gallon bucket you can easily grow both kinds of green beans in it, that is both bush beans and pole beans.

Bush beans grow in the form of a bush up to the height of 2 feet whereas pole beans grow vertically with the help of climbers and nets and go up to 8 to 10 feet in height. So naturally, the bush beans need more space in the container as compared to pole beans.

For bush beans, you should grow them 9 inches apart so you can grow 2-3 plants per bucket, and pole beans should be grown 4 inches apart so you can grow 4-5 plants per bucket as well.

Do beans like the full sun?

Green beans are warm temperature vegetables. They require a warm temperature to grow to range from 65 degrees to 85 degrees for proper growth. If the temperature gets below this they are unable to withstand this and have a tendency to die. Together with warm temperatures they also need 8 to 10 hours of full sunlight per day to grow well.

However, for germinating the seeds they need a warm soil temperature of 70 degrees and not necessarily need this amount of sunlight all day.

So you can start with the seeds in mid or late spring when the winter frost has melted and the temperature and soil start getting warmer and they will be ready for harvesting in summers.

Make sure to keep the green bean container gardening in an area where it can get ample sunlight all day as they require full sunlight for growing to its full potential.

How many beans will one plant produce?

The yield of beans will vary depending upon the variety of plants that you choose to grow. It also will vary according to the area and the growing conditions of the plant. However, on average a bean plant will give 20 pods per plant.

They are annual plants so 20 pods per plant per year. Each pod contains 6 beans on an average basis. So basically you can get 120 beans in a single plant. Hence you can decide the number of plants that you will need to grow to get the yield you want.

Final Thoughts

Green Beans are a very great vegetable to grow in containers for all types of gardeners whether newbies or experts, whether growing in a rural or in an urban setup. They are very rich in nutrients and are also easy to grow and also easy to take care of. Beans are annual and warm temperature plants so plant them during the time of the year when the frost has melted and the temperature starts to warm up. The time of sowing and growing for the green bean container gardening will depend on the zone of America that you live in but should be from spring to summer.

You can choose the variety of beans to grow depending upon the kind of plants like bush beans and pole beans. You can also choose the type of container you prefer for green bean container gardening. Buy the seed type that you want locally or online, prepare the potting mix at home or buy, take care of temperature water, and sunlight requirements for ensuring good growth. Feed the plants well and take care of the plant from pests.

Follow the required instructions properly on Green bean container Gardening and you should get a great harvest not only for yourself but hopefully for your family, friends and you might be able to leave some extras up to your neighbor’s door too.