Summer resident's cheat sheet: Which crop to plant after which

Author: Elena N. https://floristics.info/ru/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=19 Category: Garden plants Published: February 05, 2016Last edits: January 06, 2021

plant (lat. Phaseolus) belongs to the type genus of the Legume family, which includes about 90 species growing in warm regions of both hemispheres. From the Greek phaseolus is translated as “boat, canoe,” apparently because beans resemble a boat in outline. The Spanish Franciscan monk and missionary Bernardino de Sahagún, who lived and worked in Mexico in the 16th century, in his opus “General History of the Affairs of New Spain,” described Aztec evidence about the properties of beans and the diversity of its species, since the birthplace of this plant is precisely Latin America. Beans were brought to Russia from France and Turkey in the 16th century and were first grown as an ornamental plant. And today, in garden floriculture, multifloral beans, or fiery red beans (Phaseolus coccineus), with attractive fiery flowers, which are most often called Turkish beans, are in demand. In the 18th century, beans began to be grown as a garden crop. Of the types of beans cultivated today, the most common is the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), with all the variety of its varieties and varieties, which are grown for their fruits and seeds. Beans are among the top 10 healthiest vegetables, and their unpretentiousness makes growing beans in open ground accessible even to a novice gardener. However, planting beans in the ground, fertilizing beans, and harvesting beans have their own characteristics, and you need to know them.

Planting and caring for beans

• Planting: in open ground - in May, when the soil at a depth of 10 cm warms up to 12-15 ˚C.
• Lighting: bright sunlight.
• Soil: light, fertile, permeable, with a pH value of 6-7.
• Watering: before the formation of buds - abundantly, but not more than once a week; at the stage of formation of 4-5 leaves, watering is stopped and resumed only with the beginning of flowering, gradually increasing the water consumption.
• Loosening and hilling: the first time - shallow, after the seedlings reach a height of 7 cm, the second time - 2 weeks after the first, while hilling the bushes, the third loosening with simultaneous hilling of the bushes is carried out before closing the rows.
• Garter: requires supports up to 1.5 m high, on which wire is pulled. Fix the bean shoots to the guides with twine or rope. Sometimes they simply drive a stake near a bush, along which climbing shoots of beans climb.
• Top dressing: at the stage of formation of the first leaf - with superphosphate, during the budding period - with potassium salt, during the period of bean ripening - with ash. Beans do not need nitrogen fertilizers: they can produce this element themselves.
• Reproduction: seed.
• Pests: bean weevil, garden and cabbage cutworm caterpillars.
• Diseases: anthracnose, bacteriosis, viral mosaic.

Read more about growing beans below.

Landing dates

Sowing of beans begins when the soil warms up to 15 C and the threat of spring frosts has passed. In the south of Russia they traditionally focus on the flowering of chestnuts. In cooler climatic conditions, this period is associated with the flowering time of bird cherry and the appearance of birch catkins.

In warm climates, it is permissible to plant beans at a later date as a repeat crop - late June or early July. Early ripening varieties will have time to harvest before the autumn frosts.

Beans are a self-pollinating crop; planting different varieties close to each other is encouraged.

A large plantation of sugar and semi-sugar beans can be planted in several stages with a break of 10-14 days to extend the harvest time. This will make it more convenient to can the pods in small batches and use fresh legumes for food for as long as possible.

It is more advisable to choose shelling beans for group plantings of the same ripening period so that the harvest can be harvested in one go. Such varieties most often belong to determinate species.

It is believed that climbing beans are not suitable for northern regions, and it is not customary to grow them as seedlings. But if you sow beans in peat pots in a heated greenhouse, then they can subsequently be transferred to open ground without replanting.

Botanical description

The bean vegetable is a climbing or erect herbaceous perennial or annual with pinnate leaves, each of the lobes of which is equipped with a stipule. Flowers collected in racemes develop in the axils. The fruits are bivalve beans containing large bean seeds, separated from each other by incomplete spongy partitions. The weight of each bean is approximately 1 g. Doctors call beans the meat of healthy people, because they are not only nutritious and rich in protein, but also healthy.

Beans are a short-day plant, that is, in order to ripen and produce a high yield, they need no more than 12 hours of light daily. In addition, the advantage of beans is their self-pollination: you can grow different varieties of crops in one area and not be afraid that they will cross-pollinate with each other. We will tell you everything about growing beans from seeds: how to fertilize beans, when to dig beans, how to store beans, and provide a lot of other information with which you can easily grow a harvest of this valuable vegetable crop.

What can you plant after beans next year?

Experienced gardeners never neglect agrotechnical rules. An important factor is not only immediate care, but also the “neighbors” living in the garden. In fact, it is allowed to grow almost anything after this crop. The main thing is not to plant legume representatives in the same place.

Note! Beans are one of the healthiest vegetables, one of the top ten in popularity.

Strict adherence to the principles of agricultural technology will allow you to get excellent results in all species

Planting beans in open ground

When to plant

They begin to sow beans in May, when the soil at a depth of 10 cm warms up to 12-15 ºC. It is advisable to wait until the spring frosts have passed. A sign that will tell you that the time has come to plant beans is the flowering of the chestnut tree. Climbing bean varieties are planted a week later than erect ones. Bush beans can be grown as a second crop after harvesting vegetables that are ripe by early July.

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Beans can be sown in several stages: every 10 days from mid-May to early July. Many people grow beans and peas around apple trees, which protect the beans from the cold wind. Before planting beans, it is necessary to carry out preparatory treatment of the soil and seed. On the eve of planting, the seeds are sorted, soaked in water overnight to swell, and in the morning, just before planting, dipped for 5 minutes in a solution of boric acid (1 g per 5 liters of water) - this measure will protect the seeds from insect pests and many diseases.

Soil for beans

Beans do not grow well in clay soils through which water drains slowly, and beans are harmed by soil that is too wet. Beans do not like soils overloaded with nitrogen, since they themselves are able to extract it from the air. It is best to choose sunny, wind-protected areas with light, fertile, permeable soil, deep groundwater and a pH of 6-7 units for beans. If there are areas in your garden with depleted soil that has not been fertilized for a long time, plant beans there, since they, like many legumes, are an excellent green manure and a precursor for all vegetable crops.

The soil for beans is prepared in the fall: the area is dug up to the depth of a spade bayonet, adding for each m² 4 kg of humus or compost, 2 tablespoons of dolomite flour, one spoon of ammonium nitrate and double superphosphate, half a tablespoon of potassium chloride or potassium soda . Or: half a bucket of humus or compost, 30 g of superphosphate and 20 g of wood ash per 1 m².

Then you can plant beans

Beans grow well after crops such as cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers and cucumbers. It is not advisable to plant beans in areas where legumes grew (peas, lentils, soybeans, peanuts, beans and beans themselves) - after such predecessors, beans are planted on the area no earlier than three to four years. Good neighbors for beans are carrots, beets, onions, as well as tomatoes, cucumbers and cabbage.

How to plant in the ground

Bush varieties of beans are sown to a depth of 5-6 cm with an interval of 20-25 cm between bushes and row spacing up to 40 cm wide. Climbing varieties are sown less frequently: 25-30 cm between specimens and row spacing about half a meter wide. Place 5-6 beans in a hole. When the shoots appear, leave only three strong seedlings in the bush and transplant the rest. After planting, the bed is watered and the soil is compacted with the back of the rake. If you are afraid that night frosts may return, cover your crops with film.

Compatible plants

There is a studied principle of compatibility that is associated with the basic agricultural technology of each crop plant. To comply with the rules of circulation, it is important to know the basics of land preparation and the principles of crop care.

Beans fill the soil with nitrogen, the beds retain a loose structure and do not require digging. The versatility of this legume lies in the fact that the soil after it is suitable for almost all crops, while a minimum amount of fertilizer is required and the necessary balance of bacteria is ensured.

Important! The only limitation is the requirement: to plant the beans in a different place next year. This prevents the plant from becoming rotten.

After the beans, any cultivated plants can be planted. The expected harvest will come from melons, root vegetables, nightshades, bulbs, and cabbage.

Tomatoes adapt well to loose, nitrogen-enriched soil. In cabbage, the process of head formation is accelerated, and a better taste is noted. Flowers (gladioli, tulips) differ in flower size.

Important to consider! It is not recommended to saturate the soil with organic fertilizers after beans, since the soil is fertilized naturally. Nitrogen that enters the soil naturally is easily absorbed. The land is naturally enriched with legumes - this is the principle of organic farming.

Is it possible to plant garlic? According to the principle of compatibility, it gives an excellent harvest. The best predecessors of garlic are legumes, as well as cucumber, tomatoes and cabbage.

But it is not recommended to plant this type of legume next to onions and garlic; it is especially inhibited by shallots. Also, peas do not mix well with beans.

Bean care

Growing conditions

The emerging shoots are hilled to give them stability. Subsequent bean care includes regular watering, weeding, hilling the bushes, loosening the soil, fertilizing, tying shoots to supports, as well as pinching the ends of the stems to enhance their branching and accelerate the ripening of the beans.

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Watering

Before bud formation begins, beans are watered as needed - once a week or less. You will need a lot of water, but it is difficult to name the exact amount: it all depends on the weather and soil. The soil should be moderately moist. When the seedlings develop 4-5 leaves, stop watering altogether. From the beginning of flowering, the hydration of the beans is resumed, and then the amount of water poured under the bush and the frequency of watering are gradually doubled.

The best water for beans is rainwater, but if you don't have it, fill a large container with tap water and let it sit for at least a day before watering the beans. After watering, it is most convenient to weed the weeds and loosen the rows. The first shallow loosening is carried out when the seedlings reach a height of 7 cm; after two weeks, the soil is shallowly loosened a second time, at the same time hilling up the bean bushes. The third time they loosen the soil and hill up the bushes before closing the rows of beans.

Top dressing

After the formation of the first true leaf of the seedlings, they are fed with superphosphate in the amount of 30-40 g per m², and during the budding period, potassium salt is added at the rate of 10-15 g per the same unit area. During the ripening period of the beans, you can add wood ash to the soil. It is better not to feed growing beans with nitrogen fertilizers: firstly, they are able to obtain nitrogen for themselves, and secondly, excess nitrogen fertilizers can provoke vigorous growth of greenery, and the bean harvest will be more than modest.

Garter beans

When planting climbing beans, supports up to one and a half meters high are installed, onto which wire or rope is pulled horizontally. Along these stretch marks you will guide the curly shoots of the beans. You can grow beans in nests: do not thin out the sprouting seedlings, leave them to grow as a dense bush, and drive a wooden stake nearby, along which the bean stalks will curl. Or stick 3-4 guides up to 2 m high around the bush and tie their tops together so that the shape of the support resembles an Indian wigwam. Do not use metal or plastic stakes as stakes because the beans will not climb them.

Choosing a location and preparing the soil for beans

Beans need a fairly bright place; they prefer loose sandy loam soils without stagnant moisture. Drafts are not a problem, but for climbing and semi-climbing varieties tied to supports, the wind can become a problem.

In the south, melon cultivation of shelled beans is often practiced - in open space, poor soil and with poor watering.

But if all the gardener has is six acres of dacha land, then it makes sense to prepare beds for legumes especially:

1. In autumn, planting residues are carefully removed;
2. the soil is enriched with rotted manure or compost;
3. add dolomite flour at the rate of 50-60 grams per square meter;
4. also use kemira, ammophos, or any other complex mineral fertilizer according to the instructions;
5. then they dig to the depth of a spade bayonet;
6. in the spring, wood ash is added - approximately 200 g per square meter;
7. re-dig.

Pests and diseases

The plants that most often damage the plant are bean weevils, cabbage cutworms and garden cutworms. Cutworms lay eggs on the ground parts of beans, and the larvae that hatch from them begin to devour the greens, flowers and fruits of the plant. The bean kernel is a bug that enters the soil along with the seeds and destroys the beans from the inside.

What is wrong with beans? With poor care and violation of agrotechnical conditions, beans are affected by anthracnose, bacteriosis and viral mosaic. Bacteriosis is dangerous because its pathogens not only cause harm to plants and even lead to their death, but can also remain viable for many years and develop in crop residues and in the soil. Anthracnose manifests itself as brown depressed spots of irregular or round shape on seedlings, the veins on the leaves become brown, the plates turn yellow, holes form on them, and they die. Red, reddish or brown spots appear on the fruits, turning into ulcers as the disease progresses. Mosaic is characterized by the appearance of necrotic spots and discoloration of veins on bean leaves.

Bean processing

When asked how to treat beans against viral mosaic, we sadly answer: nothing. The viral disease cannot be treated, but it can be avoided if you organize proper care for beans, observe crop rotation and take the preparation of seed seriously. As for anthracnose and bacteriosis, proper care plays an equally important role in the fight against these diseases, and you can get rid of diseases by removing and obligatory burning of diseased plants or their affected parts and treating the beans and the area with one percent Bordeaux mixture.

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But before you treat the beans with a fungicide, think about whether it would be better to make it a rule to carry out preventive spraying of the beans and the area against fungal diseases? Treatment of beans and the soil around them with Fitosporin is carried out in the spring, when the seedlings reach a height of 12-15 cm, and after harvesting. This measure, if you follow agricultural practices and crop rotation, can make your beans invulnerable.

As for the fight against insects, you can prevent the appearance of cutworms by deep digging the soil on the site in the fall, but if they do appear in the spring, and there are many of them, you will have to treat the beans with a one-percent solution of Bitoxibacillin or a half-percent solution of Gomelin, which are bacterial preparations. You can prevent bean grains from appearing on your site by carefully sorting out the seeds before sowing, soaking them to swell and subjecting them to pre-sowing treatment with boric acid.

Cleaning and storage

If you want to eat young beans, you can start picking them two weeks after the flowers appear, when the fruits have reached their maximum size and highest taste. Cut the pods with scissors every two days in the morning, while they are still saturated with night moisture and coolness. Young beans are consumed in salads, vegetable stews, soups, and stews as a side dish for meat and fish. Unfortunately, fresh young beans do not last long. If you want to eat them in the winter, you will need to freeze or can the beans.

If you grow beans for grain, you can harvest them once, when the beans are ripe and the pods are dry. The stems are cut close to the ground, tied in bunches and hung upside down in a dry, ventilated place - in an attic or a dry shed. After two weeks, when the seeds have ripened and dried, they are removed from the pods and stored in glass containers with a metal “twist” lid, which are kept in a cool room. The roots of the beans remain in the ground, decompose and enrich the soil with nitrogen.

The first few pods from the bottom of the bushes are left for the seeds, dried, and beans are husked from them, which are stored in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator at a temperature of 5-6 ºC. Seed germination lasts up to ten years.

Types and varieties

Bean varieties for open ground are classified according to different criteria. For example, according to the ripening period, beans are divided into early ripening, which ripens within 65 days, mid-early, which ripening period is from 65 to 75 days, medium with a ripening period of 75-85 days, mid-ripening, which needs from 85 to 100 days to achieve ripeness, and late, ripening for 100 days or more.

Based on the shape of the ground part, beans are divided into bush or climbing.

Based on their taste and purpose, bean varieties are divided into three groups: shelled or grain, sugar or asparagus and semi-sugar.

Shelling or grain beans

It is grown for its grains because it has a parchment layer inside the pod, which does not allow it to be used as food along with the shell, like asparagus varieties. In the middle zone, it makes no sense to cultivate such beans, since they do not ripen, and when unripe, shelled beans are inedible. In warmer areas, grain beans are grown quite successfully.

The best varieties of shelling beans:

• Gribovskaya 92 – bush, moderately branched variety of medium ripening period (reaches biological ripeness in 90 days), with green sword-shaped pods up to 12 cm long;
• Shokoladnitsa is a mid-late bush bean up to 60 cm high with straight, medium-length brown pods that are resistant to shedding;
• The housewife's dream is a mid-season bush variety with wide, long yellow pods containing white seeds with a high protein content;
• Ballad - low bushes of medium ripening with green pods and beige grains speckled with purple. The variety is drought-resistant and has a high protein content;
• Golden - bushes up to 40 cm high with curved golden-colored pods and protein-rich yellow seeds of high taste;
• Rubin is a mid-season bush bean with narrow pods containing cherry-colored seeds that have high taste.

In addition to those described, shelling beans of the varieties Oran, Varvara, Lilac, Nerussa, Shchedraya, Yin-Yang, Pervomaiskaya, Heliada, Svetlaya, Belozernaya, Ufimskaya and Pale-Pied, are popular.

Sugar, or asparagus, or vegetable beans

It does not have a parchment layer inside the pod, like the grain bean variety, so it can be eaten even with the pod. This is the most delicious bean of all varieties; it is often included in diet menus, since it has the ability to remove excess moisture from the body. The color of sugar bean pods can be green, brown, white or different shades of yellow.

The most popular varieties of this group:

• Purple Queen is an unpretentious, virus-resistant and very productive bush variety of medium maturity with dark purple pods up to 15 cm long;
• Crane is a compact, high-yielding and unpretentious bush up to 50 cm high with green, tender, fiber-free pods;
• Melody is an early ripening climbing variety that requires garter, with almost flat green fruits up to 13 cm long. 8-9 pods are formed on the stem;
• Oil King is a bushy, early-ripening, productive variety with yellow pods of delicious taste;
• Ad Rem is a climbing variety with fruits of a pleasant mushroom taste and pinkish grains. The soup made from the fruits of this variety has the aroma and taste of real mushrooms.

Also in demand are asparagus varieties Pobeditel, Panther, Oleniy Korol, Caramel, Fatima and Saksa 615.

Half-sugar beans

differs in that the parchment layer inside its fruits is not as dense as in the pods of shelled varieties, or forms late. At an early stage of development, the pods are edible, but later they develop tough, unpleasant-tasting fibers.

The most famous varieties of this group:

• Secunda is an early-ripening bush variety with green pods up to 10 cm long with 5-6 yellow-brown seeds inside. In the phase of technical ripeness, there are no dense partitions in the pod, but when biological ripeness occurs, dense fibers are formed in the fruits;
• Rant is a high-yielding bush variety resistant to ascochyta and anthracnose with green pods about 13 cm long, which contain 5-6 pinkish-lilac seeds;
• Indiana is an early ripening bush variety with white seeds in red patterns. In the southern regions, this bean bears fruit twice per season.

Among the varieties of semi-sugar beans, in addition to those described, such as Antoshka, Fantasia and Nastena are known.

Vegetable beans - description of garden crop

The annual herbaceous plant belongs to the legume family. The average height of the plants is 60 cm. The stem forms lateral shoots, the roots with a core structure penetrate to a depth of about 1 m. During the period of active ripening, the beans produce fruits in the form of pods with beans. The leaves of the plant are voluminous, rich green, oval in shape. When flowering, white, pink or purple inflorescences form on the stems. The agricultural technology of beans depends on the variety grown and allows you to obtain pods with beans ranging in size from 6 to 15 cm.