Bean Plant Growth

If you are planning a garden, knowing the full cycle of the bean plant growth can enable you to maximize it’s growing season and increase the amount of crop you get. Beans, snap peas and soy beans are a healthy addition to a persons daily dietary needs. High in protein, the bean is one of the base ingredients in a vegetarian’s diet, as well as an excellent side dish for those with a preference for meat.

When growing beans the beginning growth stages are important and you will need to only use good, healthy seeds for planting in your garden. High quality seeds have a much higher chance of the plant taking root, which will result in a higher yield in your garden. While these seeds may be slightly more expensive, the overall increase of bean plant growth is worth the investment, especially if you intend on having a larger garden.

To maximize bean plant growth, planting should be done when the temperature drops no lower than 61 degrees F or 16 degrees C. Temperatures below these levels will endanger the growth for the plant and in fact may even cause it to die.

Once your seeds are planted, the time it takes for the plant to reach the seedling stage can range from three to approximately forty days, with the average being eleven days. At this point, the bean plant growth stage is termed as a seedling because the plant is at a very young stage in its development. Gardeners need to pay close attention to this phase in the bean plant growth cycle in order for a fuller fruit yield from the plant. If your seedlings are dehydrated or over watered, as well as planted too early, your crops will suffer and the amount of beans gathered later in the cycle will be diminished.

From the point that your plant has become a seedling, it takes an average of at least fifty days for your plant to produce pods and be ready for harvest. This means that there is realistically only one growth cycle for beans in a year. The season in which you plant your seeds should be no earlier than March, because they need enough time to complete the growth cycle before the colder months arrive and frost sets in. Frost can seriously harm bean plant growth, and care should be taken to avoid this. Greenhouses are sometimes used in colder climates for help in ensuring the growing stages of the bean plant are successful.

Because it is an annual plant, they can grow again each year for several seasons at a time. Seeds should be placed about two inches apart during planting a garden and when the plants have started growing, it is recommended to remove any weaker plants, so each plant has about 4 inches of space on each side. The soil should be fully cultivated to help prevent the garden from being overtaken by weeds.