The cultivation of beans has been a part of human culture since ancient times. However, it was particularly prominent in agricultural practices during the 18th century, with beans being grown in Germany, France, and Sweden. They also gained popularity among Russian peasants. But then came a period of forgetfulness for this remarkable vegetable, and now it is rarely cultivated, despite its deserving a much better fate. Here’s why.
Beans are delicious when fresh—people eat the immature seeds, but they are primarily grown for their dry seeds.
Russian Black Beans (in the ripe phase)
When they have a parchment layer, they are smooth and slightly netted; if the parchment layer is absent or poorly developed, the pods become wrinkled. In the first case, the fruits crack open. The young bean is green, while the mature one is dark brown. Depending on the variety, the pod length ranges from 7 to 21 cm, containing 3 to 4 seeds, although some varieties can have up to 7 seeds. In their young state, the pods are fleshy, green, and soft; when mature, they become coarse, leathery, and hard. The seeds vary in size and color. The weight of 1000 seeds is…
Long-Forgotten Beans
Preparation of first and second courses. These seeds are rich in vitamins, protein, fats, and fiber—there’s a lot of benefits. In terms of protein, vegetable beans surpass green peas, and in terms of calories, they outdo potatoes (by 3.0 to 3.5 times).
What Kind of Plant Is This?
Beans are such a characteristic plant for their family that it is named after them—Legumes. This annual plant has a taproot that can reach depths of 100 to 120 cm. The stem is straight, four-sided, hollow, and slightly branched at the base, with a height ranging from 20 to 125 cm. The leaflets are large, lanceolate, fleshy, and bluish-green without serrations.
The inflorescence is a raceme with 4 to 12 flowers. Each flower measures 2.5 to 3.5 cm in length, with a white color and a black spot on the wings. However, there are varieties with purely white flowers. From the moment a flower opens until it wilts, only two days pass. The flowers open in the afternoon.
The fruit is a pod. In a raceme, there can be 1 to 2, and rarely 3 to 4 pods.
Beans in the Milk-Ripeness Phase
The common gray-beige color is widespread, while among vegetable varieties, green and even white beans that do not darken during processing are also found. Along the northern boundary of cultivation, beans with dark purple seeds are common.
Vegetable beans begin to flower from the lower nodes; the order of the first flowering node depends on the variety’s earliness; the earlier the variety, the lower the node. The lower nodes bear more flowers than those positioned higher. It’s important to remember that beans are prone to cross-pollination, so when growing two or more varieties, spatial isolation should be maintained. Due to limited garden space, gardeners often have to settle for just one variety. The seed storage period is 10 to 12 years. The pollen of vegetable beans is carried by honeybees and bumblebees.
Of all vegetable legume crops, garden beans are the least demanding in terms of heat; these plants are cold-resistant, moisture-loving, and thrive in long days. Seeds begin to germinate at temperatures of 3 to 4°C, and seedlings and mature plants can withstand frosts down to -4°C, growing well at moderate temperatures between 17 and 20°C. The best temperature for seed germination is 19 to 20°C: at this temperature, bean sprouts appear on the 7th day. The optimal air temperature during fruit setting and ripening is between 15 and 20°C.
Different varieties of beans have varying heat tolerances. For example, Russian Black Beans are less susceptible to frost than Windsor White and Green Beans. As mentioned earlier, beans are long-day plants; they flower and bear fruit with significant delays under short-day conditions.
Beans are particularly sensitive to moisture from the time of germination to flowering, yielding the highest harvests when sufficient rainfall occurs during this period; they are quite sensitive to dry air, making them unsuitable for arid regions.
From sowing to germination takes 10 to 12 days, but this period can be extended in cold, wet springs. Beans are harvested along with their foliage; when tied into sheaves, they can be well cured in a barn or attic. The sheaves are hung upside down by their roots.
Varieties
What varieties of vegetable beans do we grow? Typically, these include the aforementioned Russian Black Beans, cultivated in the northern regions of Russia, and Windsor White and Green Beans, which are common in Belarus and Ukraine.
Russian Black Beans. This variety was developed from a local sample.
The plants grow to a height of 50 to 60 cm, with a branching stem that produces 1 to 2, sometimes 3 branches. The flowers are white with purple streaks on the sail and dark spots on the wings. The plant can bear from 6 to 16 pods. The first pod forms at the 5th to 6th node. The fruits are slightly curved, wrinkled, measuring 7 to 8 cm in length and 1.5 to 2 cm in width. Upon ripening, the pods do not crack open. The seeds are elongated-oval, dark purple, with a weight of 1000 seeds ranging from 1100 to 1300 g.
This variety is medium-early, requiring 72 to 80 days from germination to seed maturity, with 22 to 27 days from germination to flowering, and 60 to 65 days to technical ripeness. The yield is 50 kg of seeds per hectare. Interestingly, beans can completely eliminate wireworms.
Belarusian Beans. This variety was developed from a Belarusian sample, with verification through progeny and continuous mass selection.
The plants grow to a height of 60 to 100 cm, with a weakly branching stem. The flowers are white with brown streaks on the sail and dark spots on the wings. The first pod forms at the 6th to 7th node. The pod is straight, measuring 8 to 11 cm in length and 2 cm in width. The number of pods per plant ranges from 6 to 10. Their surface is smooth and netted, with a dark green color at removable ripeness. The fruits crack open upon ripening, containing 3 to 4 seeds. The seeds are elongated-oval, light brown, turning brown over time, with a weight of 1000 seeds ranging from 1050 to 1200 g.
This variety is medium-late, requiring 90 to 110 days from germination to seed maturity, with 23 to 28 days from germination to flowering. The yield is similar to that of the previous variety. It is recommended for cultivation in Belarus and Latvia.
How to Cultivate Beans?
The best soils for beans are heavy clay soils that are well-fertilized with manure. They can also be grown in lighter, moist soils; however, they do poorly in acidic conditions. Peaty and marshy soils are also suitable for beans, but copper-containing fertilizers must be applied; otherwise, beans will produce many stems and few seeds.
Vegetable beans thrive well after cabbage, beets, and turnips. Beans themselves are a good predecessor for all crops. The soil should be dug up in the fall to a depth of at least 25 cm. In spring, organic and mineral fertilizers are applied for beans: 0.5 to 1 bucket of manure, 30 to 50 g of superphosphate, and 10 to 20 g of potassium chloride per square meter.
During soil preparation with rakes, it is also possible to add 30 g of garden fertilizer mix and two cups of ash per square meter of soil.
Before sowing, bean seeds should be sorted, removing any that are damaged by pests or diseases. It is also possible to warm the seeds before sowing for 3 hours at 40°C (on a heating radiator) or in hot water (50°C) for 5 minutes, followed by rapid cooling in cold water. Seeds should be soaked in room temperature water for 4 to 5 hours before warming. Warming the seeds significantly increases their germination rate.
The best time to sow beans is mid-May when the soil is still moist, as a lot of moisture is needed for seed swelling and initial plant growth. They are sown in rows with spacing of 50 to 60 cm, and seeds are sown 10 to 15 cm apart within the row. For every square meter, 20 to 30 viable seeds are sown, with a planting depth of 6 to 8 cm. Beans are often sown in rows alongside potatoes, either under the spade or in holes during potato planting (to the side) with 1 to 2 seeds, as well as in rows with cucumbers. This intercropping has a beneficial effect on their yields.
The crops should be kept loose and free from weeds. Inter-row cultivation with hoes should be done several times to a depth of 8 to 13 cm and should stop when the plants reach a height of 50 to 60 cm. During the second and third loosening, the plants should be hilled, which helps strengthen the root system and increases the plants’ resistance to wind. At the same time, beans should be fertilized with mineral fertilizers.
Harvesting beans depends on the intended use of the product. If the fruits are meant to be consumed whole (pods with seeds), they should be harvested when the pods are juicy and the seeds reach a size of 1 cm. If the harvested seeds are for raw consumption, beans should be picked when the seeds are at full size for that variety in the milk-ripeness stage.
The harvest is collected in 3 to 4 rounds with intervals of 8 to 10 days. The fruits are hand-picked, taking care not to damage the plant. The yield of immature beans averages about 1 kg, while the yield of immature seeds is about 0.4 kg per square meter.
For seed harvesting, the process begins when the lower pods turn black. The stems are pulled out and cured in small bundles. Threshing is done manually, extracting the seeds from the pods. From one plant, 30 to 50 g of seeds can be collected.
Pest and Disease Control
Vegetable beans are often harmed by black aphids. Control measures include spraying with a 2-4% emulsion of green soap (200-400 g per 10 liters of water). The appearance of pests on the plants signals the need for spraying. However, the most dangerous pest for beans is the root weevil, which eats the leaves of young seedlings, while its larvae feed on the tubers on the roots. Seedlings are particularly vulnerable during dry weather.
Sown seeds and young seedlings must be protected from rooks.
Diseases
A common disease affecting beans is black leg: the root neck turns brown, thins, and sometimes is covered with a dirty-white coating made up of mycelium. The plants wilt, droop, and can be easily pulled out. Infection primarily occurs through the soil, where the fungus overwinters.
Rust affects the leaves and stems. Initially, brown spots appear on the underside of the leaves and on the stems, which later turn dark brown (pustules).
Brown spot manifests on the leaves with the appearance of brown spots, in the center of which pycnidia form. The leaves dry out and fall off. In severe cases, the disease spreads to the pods and seeds, significantly reducing yield.
Ascochyta. Dirty yellow, almost brown spots appear on the leaves and stems, with pale centers surrounded by a dark red halo. On the pods, the spots are round, almost black, and sunken. The greatest danger is posed by the infection of young pods, as the seeds inside them hardly develop.
Fusarium is also a very dangerous disease. The fungus develops from the root neck upwards along the stem, affecting the plant’s vascular system. Young plants can die completely, while older ones experience wilting of the leaves. A pink or reddish coating appears on the leaves; they wilt and dry out quickly. The disease manifests in warm weather with high humidity. Large-seeded varieties of vegetable beans are particularly affected.
Control Measures. Adhering to crop rotation (returning to previous plots after 5-6 years), proper soil treatment, sowing healthy seeds, destroying post-harvest residues, timely care for seedlings and young plants, hilling them, and fertilizing with mineral fertilizers are the main agronomic practices in combating diseases of vegetable beans.
Typically, beans are consumed fresh. Green beans are eaten on the day of harvest. They can be stored fresh, but only for a short time, and only in the refrigerator in small packages.