What Is the Best Type of Green Bean to Grow in Southern Ohio?

Pole Beans

• Pole bean cultivars suitable for southern Ohio gardens may produce green, scarlet or yellow beans. Because some cultivars are high-climbers, you can plant them to grow on poles, trellises or stakes. Pole bean plants often grow 2 to 4 feet tall, but some cultivars, such as “Kentucky Wonder” (Phaseolus vulgaris “Kentucky Wonder”), may reach 6 to 8 feet high. “Kentucky Wonder” plants produce clusters of fleshy pods -- each about 7 to 9 inches long. “Kentucky Blue” pole green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris “Kentucky Blue”) have rounded, 7-inch pods at maturity. “Blue Lake” beans (Phaseolus vulgaris “Blue Lake”) feature straight, tender pods. Pole beans typically take about 65 days from seed planting to harvest. In southern Ohio and other areas of the Buckeye State, bean seeds must be planted after the danger of frost passes, which usually is in late May.

Bush Beans

• Bush bean cultivars grow about 2 to 4 inches wide and 18 to 30 inches tall. Their vegetable pods develop and yield crops faster than those of pole bean varieties. In southern Ohio, “Bush Blue Lake” beans (Phaseolus vulgaris Bush Blue Lake”) often produce plump, fleshy pods within 57 or 58 days after seeds are sown. Bush-style “Kentucky Wonder” (Phaseolus vulgaris “Bush Kentucky Wonder”) features flat pods ready for picking after about 57 days. Other bush-green bean varieties for planting in southern Ohio gardens include “Derby” (Phaseolus vulgaris “Derby”), “Provider” (Phaseolus vulgaris “Provider”), “Espada” (Phaseolus vulgaris “Espada”), “Tendercrop” (Phaseolus vulgaris “Tendercrop”), “Tendergreen” (Phaseolus vulgaris “Tendergreen”) and “Top Crop” (Phaseolus vulgaris “Top Crop”). If you want a little color in your garden, plant bush-wax yellow bean cultivars such as “Goldcrop” (Phaseolus vulgaris “Goldcrop”) and “Sungold (Phaseolus vulgaris “Sungold”). “Royal Burgundy (Phaseolus vulgaris “Royal Burgundy”) bush bean plants grow 16 to 20 inches high and produce long, reddish-purple pods.

Planting Procedure

• Bean plants in Ohio gardens -- including those in southern counties such as Gallia, Scioto and Lawrence -- grow best in well-draining, heavy or sandy-based soil with a pH level of 5.8 to 6.3. About Memorial Day in late May, place bean seeds directly into the ground, at 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep, when the soil temperature is at or above 60 F. Space pole bean seeds 6 to 10 inches apart and bush bean cultivars' seeds about 3 or 4 inches apart. The seeds should germinate when the soil reaches 70 or 80 F, but temperatures under 60 F may slow the germination process. Sprouts emerge within eight to 10 days but could take up to two weeks in soil under 60 to 55 F.

Care

• Tender annual bean plants need about 1 inch of water per week, but seedlings can rot in overly flooded gardens, including those from heavy rains in southern Ohio near the Ohio River. If rainfall is lacking, water the garden early in the day to help keep plant foliage dry the rest of the day and night. Beans require full sunlight to produce high crop yields, but the plants can grow in partial shade. Fertilizing is not usually needed, according to the Ohio State University Extension, but test and treat the soil as necessary before sowing bean seeds. Pulling weeds by hand is the best weed-removal method, especially within the first six weeks after planting. Placing a 2-inch layer of organic mulch on the garden bed controls weeds and helps to keep soil moist. Beans are susceptible to root rots, rusts, anthracnose, mosaic viruses and blight. Pole beans in particular may attract aphids, maggots, mites, leafhoppers and Mexican bean beetles.