How to Grow a Healthy Green Bean Plant Fast

Spread compost or manure on your soil in the fall or as soon as the soil can be worked in the spring. Dig to a depth of 8 inches with your shovel, turning over the soil and mixing in the compost. Don't work wet soil as it can compact the dirt.

Rake the soil to level it, removing rocks and weeds.

Place a layer of black plastic mulch over the soil two to four weeks before the estimated last frost. This will warm the soil and improve speedy germination. Don't soak bean seeds. A common misconception is soaking hastens growing. In fact, it actually cracks the shells and causes disease.

Plant seeds a week or two before the last frost when soil temperatures are above 60 degrees F. Insert a stick thermometer in the soil to check the temperature.

Dig a trench 1 1/2 inches deep with a hoe or stick. Plant the seeds at a rate of six per foot. Cover the seeds with soil and pat down.

Water your green beans 1 to 2 inches per week. Beans won't grow well in waterlogged soil, so allow them to partially dry out between waterings. In very hot weather, or if the plants seem droopy, water them more.

Spread some granular fertilizer according to package directions near the plants mid-season and gently hoe it in. Don't get fertilizer on the plants or roots. Beans make their own nitrogen, but using a fertilizer made for vegetables will hasten growth.

Spread a 1-inch thick mulch of grass clippings or hay around beans to preserve moisture and keep weeds down. Remove weeds by hand or by lightly cultivating the soil with your hoe. Harvest beans when the pods are long and mature but before the seeds cause bulging.