Combined with corn, beans make a complete protein. They dry themselves.

Sow

Soil 60°F, mid-May. Don’t soak seed in cold ground — it rots.

Spacing

Bush 4 in, rows 18–24 in. Pole 8 in at the base of a sturdy trellis.

Days

85–100 (Pinto, Black Turtle, navy, rattlesnake pole)

Harvest

Pods tan and rattly. Pull whole plants on a dry day and hang. Shell when brittle.

Store

Bone-dry in jars. Freeze 48 hours first to kill weevil eggs. 25+ years if dry and dark.

Seed

Easiest crop to save. Keep 50+ plants of one variety away from other blooming beans if you want it true.

Companions

Corn, savory, potato. Not with onions.

Pests

Mexican bean beetle — crush yellow egg clusters, hand-pick copper adults. Don’t plant beans in the same bed two years running.

A 4×12 bed of bush beans can fill a gallon jar. Plant a second succession in early July for a fall dry crop.