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🔍 Click to enlargevegetableannual
Green Bean
Phaseolus vulgaris
Easy, rewarding bush or pole bean. No trellis needed for bush varieties.
Quick Facts
Sun:☀️ Full Sun
Water:💧💧 Moderate
USDA Zones:Zones 3–11
Space:🌱 Small Bed, 🏡 Large Garden
Soil:Loam, Sandy, Silty
Best Season(s):Spring, Summer
Experience Level:🌱 Beginner
Native Range:Mesoamerica & Andes
Bloom Color:White, pink, or purple depending on variety (grown for pods)
Bloom Cycle:Continuous through summer
Days to Harvest:50–60 days
Harvest Pattern:Continuous / cut-and-come-again
Care Notes
Direct sow after last frost. Do not overwater — tolerates dryness.
Growing Details
Mature Size:Bush types: 1-2 ft tall, 1-1.5 ft wide; pole types: vines 6-10 ft on a trellis
Growth Rate:🐇 Fast
Zone Performance
In Zones 3-5, beans should be direct-sown only after soil warms past 60°F and all frost danger has passed, since cold, wet seed rots quickly, leaving a tight window for multiple bush bean successions. In Zones 8-11, the short 50-60 day maturation of bush types allows two or three successive sowings across spring and fall, avoiding only the hottest peak-summer weeks when flowering can stall.
Companions & Wildlife
🦌 Deer Resistance
frequently damaged
Tender leaves and pods are highly palatable, and deer often target young bean rows before gardeners even notice the damage starting.
🐝 Pollinator Value
moderate
Self-pollinating flowers don't require insect visits to set pods, but bumblebees and honeybees do visit and can slightly boost yields, especially in pole varieties.
Good Companions
Corn — The Three Sisters combination — corn provides a living trellis for climbing beans.
Pumpkin — Nitrogen-fixing beans benefit the heavy-feeding squash sharing the bed, in the classic Three Sisters pattern.
Zucchini — Nitrogen-fixing beans benefit the heavy-feeding squash sharing the bed.
Cucumber — Classic pairing — beans fix nitrogen that benefits the heavier-feeding cucumber.
Carrot — Compatible growth habits and root depths, with beans adding nitrogen to the shared bed.
Eggplant — Beans are thought to help repel Colorado potato beetle, which also attacks eggplant.
Troubleshooting
⚠️ Flowers dropping without setting pods
Blossom drop is usually heat-triggered above roughly 90°F — provide light afternoon shade during heat waves and ensure consistent watering.
⚠️ Mexican bean beetle larvae skeletonizing leaves
Check leaf undersides for yellow-orange egg clusters and spiny larvae, hand-pick when populations are small, and rotate planting location yearly.
⚠️ Powdery or downy mildew on leaves in humid weather
Space plants for good airflow, water at the soil line, and remove heavily infected foliage promptly.
⚠️ Poor germination or seedlings rotting
Avoid overwatering right after sowing and wait for soil to warm sufficiently, since bean seed is very prone to rotting in cold, saturated ground.
⚠️ Pet Safety
Cooked/ripe pods are fine in small amounts, but raw, dry, or uncooked beans contain lectins that are toxic to pets and humans — always cook before feeding to a pet.
Informational only — always check with a veterinarian if you suspect your pet has eaten something it shouldn't have.