IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO GROW BEANS!

Pole string beans are one of the best summer crops my husband and I grow.  They produce so many string beans that not only can we eat them several times a week, but we have plenty to blanch, freeze, and store for the winter!  They take little to no work except for picking the beans regularly.  I actually find picking them quite relaxing.  It is NOT too late to grow them if you want to try. 
 
There are only a few basic requirements:

1. Seeds
   
2. A trellis or pole to climb
   
3. Water every other day
   
4. Sunlight (south facing is best)
   

 
Seeds are still available at Amazon.  I purchase the Sweet Garden Organics Kentucky Pole Beans.  These are heirloom seeds.  This means at the end of the season you can save some of the beans (with the seeds in them) to grow the following year!  This is great because it makes it easy to plant them next year without having to buy new seeds!

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You need a place for the bean plants to grow.  They can grow very high (up to 12’).  Two methods that I have personally tried are the following:

1. If you have a fence that has nothing in the way you can purchase garden trellis netting from Amazon or another store.  This is just hung from the fence and the beans will grow up it.  Works great with the only limitation being that beans can only be picked from one direction.
   
2. The method we use is a trellis built using two pieces of 10’ half inch electrical conduit pipe, two pieces of 24” half inch rebar, two 90 degree elbow connectors for the conduit, and twine (or netting).  This method, as seen in the picture above, ends up being about 5 feet tall and allows beans to be picked from both sides.  This can also create a good screen for a porch or patio later in the summer when the plants have grown in. You can find building directions here: http://www.creatingasimplerlife.com/building-our-garden.html

Once you have the seeds and the poles or trellis, you can plant!  We till the dirt along the bottom length of the pole design, mix in some sweet peat, and then plant one seed every three inches about a half-inch deep.  Water every other day and reap the rewards in about 2 months!
 
Picking tip:  Pick them when they are relatively small (3-4 inches long) – they taste better and they will actually produce more beans the more they are picked!  At the end of the season, allow some beans to remain on the vine and grow larger.  These will eventually be harvested to plant for next year.  The longer they stay on the vine, the stronger the seeds will be for planting next year :-)