How to Grow Cherokee Bush Beans

Cherokee bush beans are a type of yellow wax bean, with black seeds, that grow on a bush rather than a vine. The beans are 6 inches in length and are eaten fresh, frozen or canned. Cherokee is a disease-resistant variety that produces beans within 58 days of planting. Plant your Cherokee bush beans when the soil temperature, at a depth of 4 inches, is at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Choose an area to plant that receives a full day of sun.

Shovel
Fertilizer
Ammonium nitrate

Instructions

- 1
  Clear the planting area of all weeds.
- 2
  Aerate the planting area by digging into it to a depth of 10 inches and crushing the soil so that there are no clods larger than your fist.
- 3
  Add 3 lbs. of 5-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet of planting bed, and mix it to a depth of 10 inches.
- 4
  Plant the Cherokee bean seeds 1 inch deep, 8 inches apart in rows that are 2 feet apart. Water to a depth of 6 inches after planting.
- 5
  Water the bean seedlings with 1 inch of water every week.
- 6
  Wait until the Cherokee bean plants set pods and then sidedress the rows with 1 lb. of ammonium nitrate per 100 feet of row. Sidedressing is a method of fertilizing that assures the fertilizer won't burn the plant's roots. Dig a 2-inch-deep trench, 4 inches along the side of each row of beans. Sprinkle the fertilizer on the bottom of the trench, cover it with soil, and water to a depth of 6 inches.
- 7
  Harvest the Cherokee beans by breaking the stem just above the pod. The beans are ready for harvest when the pods snap easily but before the seeds begin to bulge from the pods.

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