Articles by Lee County Master Gardeners
Peas and Beans that Can Take the Heat
By Sarah Bell Harris
Local vegetable gardeners should make early plans when planting peas and beans. Summer heat can be upon us earlier than expected, making the planting of bush green beans a gamble. Bush beans do not like hot summer heat and will cease to yield a crop. If you want bush green beans, plant them when the air temperatures are in the 70s, or by mid-May. Requiring 50 to 60 days from planting to harvest, popular varieties of bush beans for our area include Atlantic, Blue Lake, and Contender.
If a continual summer yield that will take the heat is of more interest to you, pole green beans could be your best bet. More tolerant of heat, pole beans, like any vining vegetable, do require support. Cane poles, strings, or a trellis will allow for the 6 to 8-foot span of their usual growth. Bean vines are heavy, so construct strong support to prevent trellis collapse in wet weather. Popular varieties, with a plant-to-harvest cycle of 65 to 70 days, are Kentucky Wonder, Blue Lake, and Rattlesnake.
No southern table seems incomplete without a dish of butter beans, also known as lima beans. This delicious bean can be grown in bush form or as a vine. Cold weather is the enemy of the lima bean, so wait for the soil to warm to at least 65 degrees. This bean generally can take early summer heat, yielding 65 to 60 days from planting to harvest. Varieties that have tested well in trial gardens include Dixie Butterpea, Henderson Bush, and Jackson Wonder.
On the other hand, southern peas or cowpeas, including black-eyed, crowder, purple hull, and cream peas, tolerate the hottest parts of our summers and can be planted between April and early August. Southern peas germinate better at soil temperatures between 70 and 95°F and do not require a lot of nitrogen fertilizer. Like most plants in the bean or legume family, bacteria associated with their roots can take nitrogen gas from the air and “fix” it for the plant’s use. If too much nitrogen is used on southern peas, you are likely to get excess vegetative (stem and leaf) growth but less pod production.
For complete professional information on pea and bean production, consult the Mississippi State University Extension Service website, with multiple publications and articles available for the home gardener.
Sarah Bell Harris is a Lee County Master Gardener
By Sarah Bell Harris
Local vegetable gardeners should make early plans when planting peas and beans. Summer heat can be upon us earlier than expected, making the planting of bush green beans a gamble. Bush beans do not like hot summer heat and will cease to yield a crop. If you want bush green beans, plant them when the air temperatures are in the 70s, or by mid-May. Requiring 50 to 60 days from planting to harvest, popular varieties of bush beans for our area include Atlantic, Blue Lake, and Contender.
If a continual summer yield that will take the heat is of more interest to you, pole green beans could be your best bet. More tolerant of heat, pole beans, like any vining vegetable, do require support. Cane poles, strings, or a trellis will allow for the 6 to 8-foot span of their usual growth. Bean vines are heavy, so construct strong support to prevent trellis collapse in wet weather. Popular varieties, with a plant-to-harvest cycle of 65 to 70 days, are Kentucky Wonder, Blue Lake, and Rattlesnake.
No southern table seems incomplete without a dish of butter beans, also known as lima beans. This delicious bean can be grown in bush form or as a vine. Cold weather is the enemy of the lima bean, so wait for the soil to warm to at least 65 degrees. This bean generally can take early summer heat, yielding 65 to 60 days from planting to harvest. Varieties that have tested well in trial gardens include Dixie Butterpea, Henderson Bush, and Jackson Wonder.
On the other hand, southern peas or cowpeas, including black-eyed, crowder, purple hull, and cream peas, tolerate the hottest parts of our summers and can be planted between April and early August. Southern peas germinate better at soil temperatures between 70 and 95°F and do not require a lot of nitrogen fertilizer. Like most plants in the bean or legume family, bacteria associated with their roots can take nitrogen gas from the air and “fix” it for the plant’s use. If too much nitrogen is used on southern peas, you are likely to get excess vegetative (stem and leaf) growth but less pod production.
For complete professional information on pea and bean production, consult the Mississippi State University Extension Service website, with multiple publications and articles available for the home gardener.
Sarah Bell Harris is a Lee County Master Gardener
