Steps on How a Bean Plant Grows

Germination

• When you plant a bean in soil and water it, the bean will germinate in about a week. At this point it is critical that the environment is suitable for the bean, which means that there is adequate oxygen, water, warmth and even darkness—conditions common in the spring. The seed remains underground and collects nutrients before the primary root appears, which anchors the seed and further feeds the embryo water and minerals from the soil. The shoot of the plant, called the hypocotyl, then emerges and shoots up, pulling the cotyledons with it above ground, according to absoluteastronomy.com. Leaves then appear, and the hypocotyl will grow until it looks like a bent hairpin.

Growth

• When the hypocotyl pokes through the earth and receives sunlight, phototropism begins. Phototropism is the movement or growth of an organism—in this case, a plant shoot—toward a source of light without the complete movement of the entire organism, according to biology-online.com. This approximately six-week process causes the hypocotyl to straighten out.

Reproduction

• Flowers begin to grow on the plant and are fertilized by pollen carried by insects or the wind. Ovules in the flower, which develop into seeds, begin to develop, and the ovaries start the process of growing into bean pods as the flowers start withering. After all of the flowers’ petals dry out they disappear.

Beans for Food

• The bean pods become green and very fragile. When they are ripe, they become bulging pods that are filled with luscious seeds. These pods often are harvested when the seeds inside the plant have finished developing. They are popular in diets across the globe for their high protein level. Any remaining, unharvested pods mature, dry up and break open, which allows the seeds to fall to the soil to begin the germination process all over again—which is known as the seed-to-seed process.