How to Grow Mung Bean Plants Indoors

Blend equal portions of garden loam, compost, coarse builder's clay and perlite in a large container. This results in a well-drained soil mix high in organic nutrients. Alternatively, purchase a commercial soil blend that contains a light, fertile, sandy soil mixture.

Select a large, deep container that has a drainage hole in the bottom. A wooden barrel, large clay pot or similar container works well. Fill the container to within 1 inch of the container rim with the potting soil mix.

Test the soil pH to ensure the soil is near neutral. Take a soil sample to the local agricultural extension for a precise analysis. Mung beans require pH levels between 6.2 to 7.2, and soils that are too basic or acidic may slow or prevent growth. Add soil amendments as needed to adjust the pH. Lime, for instance, raises pH, and aluminum sulfate lowers it. Follow product instructions for best results.

Plant your mung-bean plant in May or early June. Set three mung-bean seeds -- either previously harvested beans or purchased seeds -- on top of the soil surface, and use your forefinger to poke them down under the soil about an inch -- approximately up to your first knuckle. Smooth the dirt surface over top the seeds.

Water the freshly planted mung beans to provide initial moisture for germination. Use a little judgment on how much water to use, depending on how big the plant container is and how much soil it holds. Mung beans do not like soggy, oversaturated soil, so use enough water to wet the soil to a depth of perhaps 3 inches without wetting the entire container.

Cover the planter with a makeshift lid such as a planter bottom, newspapers or a plastic garbage-can lid. This helps keep the seeds and soil slightly moist and encourages the sprouts to develop. Sprouts should emerge from the soil in about a week, as long as temperatures remain warm; the warmer the temperature, the faster the germination.

Set the growing mung-bean plant in a sunny location inside your home. Mung beans require at least six to eight hours of sunlight every day, so a southern-facing window is ideal. Additionally, maintain warmer temperatures and lower humidity in the home for best results. As a warm-weather bean that enjoys dry soil, mung beans prefer air temperatures similar.

Water mung-bean plants periodically. Stick your finger into the soil up to your first knuckle. If it feels dry, pour enough water to saturate to the same level. Wait to water again until the soil is again dry to the same depth.

Build a support if the mung-bean variety planted is a pole-type rather than a bush bean. Set three or four bamboo or other wood sticks in a tepee fashion over top the growing plant. Bind the frame together with twine and encourage the trailing tendrils to begin growing along the frame. Alternatively, fishing line strung between nearby objects will provide the pole mung bean a surface to grow on.

Feed your mung-bean plant monthly, using a water-soluble fertilizer or organic product. Follow the product instructions for exact ratios and procedures.

Harvest the beans in approximately 90 to 120 days, depending on the variety planted. Your plant will flower sporadically for a couple of months, so ripe mung-bean production is actually staggered. Typically, bean pods are picked when about 2/3 of the pods are ready.