How Long Until Green Bean Plants Produce?

Time to Harvest

• As with most vegetables, the time you should expect between planting and harvest depends somewhat on the type and variety of green bean you plant. Bush beans -- green beans that grow in a shrub-like form and do not require staking for support -- are generally ready for harvest in about 57 days. Green beans that require a pole or trellis for support, called pole beans, take about a week longer and are ready to harvest after about 65 days.

Harvesting Green Beans

• It's important to harvest green beans at the right time, as overripe green beans develop a tough, stringy and inedible pod. Harvest when the pod measures the length of a small pencil but before you can see the beans bulging through the outside of the pod. Pods should feel firm. When removing the pod, take care not to break the stem. Green beans harvested before the seeds fully mature and without damaging the plant will flower again and produce more green beans.

  If you can see the beans through the outside of the pod on a bush bean plant, you can remove the pod to eat the beans inside.

Staggered Planting

• Because green beans have a relatively narrow window for harvesting, if you plant all of your seeds at once, you'll end up with more than you can eat for a short time, and then no green beans at all. Because green beans don't require long to mature, you can plant them up to two months before the first frost is expected in your area. After the final frost, plant a few seeds every two weeks to harvest a regular crop of green beans throughout the summer.

Preserving the Extras

• If you do end up with a bumper crop of green beans, you have several options for preserving the harvest. Store green beans in the vegetable crisper of your refrigerator for up to a week. Store them in a plastic bag or container, but do not wash them first, as they may develop black spots.

  You can freeze green beans for long-term storage. Blanche green beans by boiling them for four minutes, then immersing them in an ice-water bath for five minutes or until they cool. Use only the freshest, most tender beans for preservation, as freezing can increase the stringiness in overripe beans.