How to Grow Northern White Beans

Start your Great Northern white bean seedlings once the frost is off the ground and temperatures warm to 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Find a site that gets at least six to eight hours of full sun every day for growth, flowering and fruiting, and drains quickly after any rain. Beans won't grow if they sit in standing water. Make sure that any site has at least 3 square feet of space for the bean patch.

Amend the soil one to two days before planting to let amendments settle in. Dig up the top 6 inches of your planting site and weed it to give beans a clear site for growing. Lay 2 inches of organic compost and 1 inch of quick-draining soil on top of your planting site and turn the mixture into the soil you've tilled. This gives the beans a rich, acidic foundation for long-term nutrition. Add 5-10-10 fertilizer to the tilled soil.

Plant Great Northern white beans 1 1/2 inch deep in the tilled soil, 4 to 6 inches apart, in rows. Leave 3 feet of space between rows, and plant at least two rows to ensure pollination and vegetable harvest.

Put a trellis or arbor behind each row of beans for support when the vines get long enough. Make sure that the trellis or arbor is secure, as beans will grow quite heavy when they mature.

Spread 2 to 3 inches of organic mulch over the soil in the bean patch to maintain soil moisture and discourage weed growth. Beans have shallow root systems and will die if any weeds grow in the area. Water the beans with 2 inches of water every week to maintain good soil moisture.