How to Grow Tiger's Eye Bush Beans

Monitor the temperatures in the spring and wait until frost chances have passed and the ground is completely thawed.

Find a ground location that has full sunlight and well-draining soil. The soil must be dark rich loam for the best bean production.

Loosen the top 2 to 3 inches of soil in the area using a bow rake for manual tilling or a mechanical tiller. Smooth the top of the soil using a bow rake so it is even and not lumpy.

Turn the bow rake upside down and use it to create a 1-inch deep trough all the way down the planting site. If multiple rows of Tiger’s Eye beans are desired, create multiple parallel toughs with 18 to 36 inches of space between them.

Insert the Tiger’s Eye bean seeds into the trough, spacing them 2 inches apart. Once you insert all seeds into the trough, rake the removed soil back into the trough. Pat the top of each row lightly with your hands to firm it up.

Water the soil with a garden hose until it is moist 2 to 3 inches below the surface. Maintain constant soil moisture until the Tiger’s Eye sprouts emerge, which takes between three and 10 days. After sprouts emerge, apply 1 inch of water each week if no precipitation occurs.

Monitor the sprout height and thin the sprouts when they reach 1-inch tall. Pull out the weak seedlings until there is only one plant every 4 inches.

Harvest the beans 55 days after planting if you want to eat the pods and beans immediately. At this stage the pods are green, flat and 4 inches long. Harvest shell beans 65 days after planting when the pods are still green but the beans are clearly swollen inside the pod. To harvest dried beans, wait 85 days after planting when the pods turn brown and feel dry.