Bean Growing Guide

In the Bean Growing Guide. Beans are the seeds of the plant called Vicia faba, the most important characteristic of this plant is that it is a leguminous plant that enriches the soil by providing nitrogen. That is why it is important to plant it in soils that have previously had very demanding crops, such as tomatoes, eggplants… Performing a good crop rotation.

Its flowers are white with a dark spot and the stem has a curious shape being square. They are plants that can reach an important size. Depending on the space it has to develop roots, they can reach more than 2 meters in height, depending on the variety. For an urban garden the best are the varieties with a small size and if we have space and choose varieties with normal size.

WHEN AND HOW TO SOW

In temperate areas such as the Mediterranean we will sow in late summer and autumn. While in colder areas we will have to wait until the end of winter.

In our Bean Growing Guide we show you that at the time of sowing it is advisable to soak them the day before, to facilitate germination, although it is not mandatory. Ideally, direct sowing should be done, with 2-4 seeds per hole at a distance of 30-40 cm and at a depth of 3-5 cm. In a few days 10-12 we will see our seeds germinate.

In case you do not do it directly and you do it in seedbed, I recommend you to do it in wide seedbed or in pots, plant at least 2 seeds per pot or seedbed hole and moisten the soil very well.

THE TRANSPLANT

In case you have chosen to make seedlings of this crop, the ideal is to transplant when the plant has a height of 10-15 cm, when it already has several stages with true leaves.

To transplant to soil or a larger pot, make a hole large enough to fit and cover well. Water abundantly to eliminate possible air pockets and that the roots are humid and do not suffer hydric stress.

IRRIGATION

In our Bean Growing Guide we showed you that fava beans are not very demanding in terms of water requirements. If we have planted them at the end of summer and the temperatures are still high, it would be convenient to water at least 2 or 3 times a week. Later on, when we enter autumn and winter and temperatures are lower and we have rain, the idea is to irrigate once a week, as the broad bean does not like too much water either. Care must be taken not to let them dry out, especially between flowering and fruit set, as the crop may be lost.

GUIDED OR MENTORED

This is up to each one to choose, I personally never guide or tutor them, at most I make a fence for them as shown in the photo. So that they don’t open up too much and don’t take up too much space, so they are more controlled and don’t take up space or cover other plants.

As you can see it is very simple, we use some posts of the material that we want, that if we take into account that it is hard, and we put some ropes that pass through the sticks, so we keep the plant more upright.

PLANT PRUNING

As for the pruning of the Haba bean, it is not very demanding and does not require pruning, except only if we do not want it to grow taller to make an apical pruning. With this we will avoid very tall plants but on the contrary wider plants, since we will favor the growth of new shoots.

HOW AND WHEN TO HARVEST

Another important point that from the Bean Growing Guide we are going to teach you. As for harvesting, we will collect them according to taste, as some people collect them tender and consume them with the pod or leave them more or less mature to eat the seed. The ideal is to carry out a staggered planting in order to harvest at different times and thus extend its consumption at home for a longer period of time. We can also sow early seeds, which will be harvested after 2 or 3 months, or late seeds, which will be harvested after 4 months.

We can let them dry to the maximum on the plant to save seed for next year and thus have a seed that will have in its genetic memory our soil and climate, so it will develop better.

COMMON DISEASES AND PESTS

I NSECTS.

• Red and white spider mites Suck up plant material by absorbing cellular juices as part of their feeding. The affected tissue stains a yellowish color that necroses with time. In advanced pests, a characteristic spider web is generated around the entire plant.

• Black bean aphid. (Aphis fabae) Aphids prefer to feed on young, tender and developing plant organs. Adults and nymphs passively extract the elaborated sap when the pressure is sufficient. Always in large quantities to compensate for its low amino acid richness. By absorbing the sap of the plants, they cause generalized weakening, which is manifested in stunted growth and yellowing of the plant, which is related to the aphid population it supports. During feeding, aphids inject saliva containing toxic substances causing leaf deformations such as curling and curling.

• Caterpillars. They are very varied in shape, color and size but all of them are very harmful. Damage to the plant is caused by larval bites on the leaves or on the fruit in the stage of formation.

• Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) The female whitefly lays her eggs on the underside of bell pepper leaves. Spheres of white color are visible to the eye. To feed, they suck the plant, weakening it and eventually causing general wilting.

• Thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) Thrips are elongated insects measuring about 1- 2 mm (visible to the naked eye and recognizable with a magnifying glass) and are brown in color. These insects suck plant material from the tomato plant. The area where they have been sucked has a silvery coloration and eventually necroses.

ENFERMEDADES.

• Downy mildew (Phytophthora infestans) This fungal disease attacks the aerial part of the plant in conditions of high humidity (90%). Detection of the presence of the fungus is due to the appearance of irregular spots that eventually necrotize on the leaves. Brown spots appear on the stem and irregularly shaped brown spots appear on the fruit.

• Powdery mildew (Leveillula taurica) This fungus manifests itself on the plant with a whitish mycelium that can be seen with the naked eye. The germination temperature of the fungus fluctuates between 10 ºC and 35 ºC. . .
• Chocolate Spot(Botrytis fabae). Optimal environmental conditions for the fungus are around 20°C and high relative humidity. The initial symptoms are reddish spots on leaves and pods. At the end of the season the fungus produces small compact masses of hyphae, black sclerotia, which survive throughout the winter. Affected pods produce stained seeds with lesions, which can transmit the disease.

PRODUCTS WE RECOMMEND FOR THIS CROP