Pole Beans Vs. Bush Beans

Inoculants

• As legumes--like peas, alfalfa and clover--bean plants can provide some of their own nutrition. Legumes “fix” nitrogen from the atmosphere, taking it in through their root nodules as part of a symbiotic relationship with the soil-dwelling Rhizobium bacteria that make it available. This is an automatic process in soils with adequate bacteria populations. Treat any type of bean seeds with powdered bacterial inoculants--using only the bacterium specifically required by beans--to start this beneficial relationship.

Growth Habit

• Beans have very different growth and development patterns. Pole beans, the traditional bean form, grow as vines that need a trellis or some other support. Bush beans are upright and self-supporting, growing only to about 2 feet tall. Half-runner beans are sturdy but short vines that benefit from some support. They typically don’t grow taller than 3 feet, and in a pinch, adjacent plants can support each other.

Planting

• All beans need thoroughly warm soil, or seeds may rot instead of germinate. Plant seeds for most varieties about 1 inch deep and 3 to 4 inches apart, though some beans with smaller seeds are planted only a 1/2 inch deep. Bush beans can be planted in single, double or more rows, depending on your garden layout, with 2 to 3 feet between rows. Supports for pole beans should be in place when seeds are planted, either as rows along both sides of a trellis or in “hills” surrounding a teepee-style support made from bamboo poles or branches and twine.

Maturity

• A key difference between most runner and bush varieties is the timeframe for plant maturity. Pole beans will continue to grow, blossom and produce bean pods as long as the weather is warm and beans continue to be harvested. Bush beans often concentrate their bloom and bean production period into a shorter period of time. Half-runner beans and some bush bean varieties are halfway between the two, with a longer continuing harvest period if beans are regularly picked.

Harvest

• Pole beans produce for an extended period and are typically harvested throughout the summer and into fall. With a vertical growth habit, pole beans also represent a more efficient use of space. They do well in smaller gardens and containers. Bush beans are well suited to commercial growing, because concentrated production makes harvest more efficient. This feature makes bush beans convenient for canning and freezing, because harvest comes all at once. But then harvest is over. Gardeners overcome this limitation by planting more bush beans every two weeks, for a continuing crop.