Growing and caring for asparagus beans in the open field

Asparagus (green) beans received recognition much later than other varieties. Now she is very popular in cooking. The pods of this culture do not contain coarse fibers, therefore they are used whole. Care and cultivation of asparagus beans are practically no different from other varieties, but there are still some features.

Description of popular varieties and existing varieties

Green beans are an annual variety. It is characterized by curly leaves and bivalve beans, in the middle of which are large beans. The fruits are blocked by spongy leaves that soften when cooked. Green beans are a whole storehouse of useful components, among which protein is in the lead.

Culture does not require much light. For a bountiful harvest, a sufficient 12 hours of daylight hours. Leguminous varieties are self-pollinated, so several species can be grown in one area at once.

Asparagus beans can be climbing and bush, early, mid and late ripening.

Cereal varieties are meant to be eaten only because the shell is too hard. Such varieties are to be grown in warm climates; in the middle lane they do not ripen. The most popular grain beans are:

1. Chocolate girl. Mid-season plants that reach a height of about 1 meter. The culture is characterized by yellow long fruits.
2. Ballad. Medium-ripening beans that are resistant to dry weather. When ripe, light yellow fruits with small purple spots are formed. The value of this variety is that it contains the maximum amount of protein in its composition.
3. Ruby. Also a mid-season variety. It is characterized by burgundy beans and narrow pods.

Asparagus beans are usually eaten whole. This distinguishes it from peeling varieties, which are unsuitable for whole consumption due to the content of the parchment layer. Many gourmets consider asparagus beans to be the most delicious variety. Most often, the following varieties of asparagus crops are planted in Russia:

1. Crane. A variety characterized by compact bushes and fibrous pods with a delicate flavor.
2. The oil king. Fast ripening culture with delicate taste.
3. Hell Rem. Climbing bushes with soft pink fruits that taste like mushrooms.

These varieties are also known for their ability to remove excess fluid from the body.

How to choose a variety

Which variety to give preference to depends on individual desires and climatic conditions. In mid-latitudes, for example, early and mid-season varieties are grown. The ripening of varieties of late ripeness is given no more than 130 days.

Curly ones are characterized by long pods. They are planted not only to get good yields, but also to decorate the site. This is due to the fact that the plants have decorative beautiful flowers and flexible stems, which will become a real decoration of any structure.

Shrub varieties are characterized by small fruits that are not suitable for human consumption. First of all, bush beans are planted as green manure to enrich the soil with nitrogen.

In temperate climates, gardeners prefer to grow the following varieties of asparagus beans:

1. The oil king.
2. Panther.
3. Sachs.
4. The purple queen.

These varieties are characterized by unpretentiousness to soil and maintenance.

Preliminary preparation of seeds

Before planting seeds of asparagus beans, pre-sowing preparation is carried out, namely:

• carefully sort out the grains, removing bad and damaged ones;
• soaked for 12 hours in water at room temperature;
• before sowing, the grains are immersed in a weak solution of boric acid for several minutes.

Sowing terms and technology

The culture does not require any peculiarities of sowing. Asparagus beans are planted in a soil warmed up to at least 10 degrees. At the same time, night frosts should completely stop. As a rule, this is mid to late May. For better germination, the seeds are pre-soaked in water. Some gardeners use a weak solution of potassium permanganate to disinfect the material.

Note! If the soil is sufficiently moistened when planting seeds, there is no need to soak them.

To increase disease resistance, the grains are kept in an aqueous boric acid solution before planting. Then the seeds are lowered into the holes made, the depth of which is from 3 to 5 cm.For bushy varieties, 10 cm are left in one furrow, and 30 cm between the grooves. the distance between the rows should not be less than 0.5 m.

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Seat and its preparation

They start preparing the soil for asparagus beans in the fall. No special effort is required for this. Apply standard soil digging and fertilization. Superphosphate, potassium chloride or humus can be used as the latter.

On the eve of planting, the site is subject to re-digging. In the case of increased soil viscosity, gardeners add a little sand to it. Before planting the beans, the soil is fluffed with a rake.

Planting asparagus beans in the open field requires the obligatory disinfection of the soil with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Growing methods

How to grow a culture depends on the characteristics of the variety. Bush varieties with a strong stem are planted in lower rows, the distance between which is at least 20 cm. A checkerboard planting order is also allowed. Climbing beans with liana stems require pre-installation of the support.

You can also plant beans in seedlings. But in this case, it is important to make sure that there will be no more frost. Seedlings are planted in the ground only after the full onset of heat, otherwise all plants will die.

At home

Growing beans on a windowsill is a less familiar way. Early varieties are perfect for this purpose. Curly varieties of asparagus beans will also become a decoration in the house, since in their external characteristics they resemble a liana. And during the flowering period, when purple, white or pink inflorescences appear on them, these plants surpass even the most decorative flowers.

To grow a good crop on a windowsill, you need fertile soil. Bush crops must be grown in pots with a volume of at least two liters. For climbing species, you will need large containers with a volume of at least 30 liters. Sowing is carried out with both dry and germinated seeds.

Since beans are a light-loving plant, it is recommended to place containers with plants on the south side. Lack of sunlight can adversely affect crop growth and, as a result, harvest. Also, do not forget about timely support. Otherwise, the full growth of plants is impossible.

In the greenhouse

In regions with a cold climate, greenhouse cultivation of beans is most often practiced. This is especially true for climbing varieties, as they require less space. Greenhouse planting of beans is carried out in late February - early March. Initially, strong strings are pulled along the rows, which will serve as support for the plants, then soil is poured into the racks.

If sowing is carried out in February, additional lighting must be installed in greenhouses, since beans require at least 12 hours of daylight hours.

Open ground

Beans are one of the most thermophilic plants that simply cannot survive at low temperatures. Therefore, planting a crop in the garden is advisable only after the onset of stable heat. If the soil on the site is of poor quality, then it is fertilized in the spring with nitrogen compounds, for example, ammonium nitrate.

A well-developed root system ensures that plants tolerate drought well. However, prolonged lack of moisture is also not recommended. But what the asparagus beans don't like is excess moisture.

With deep planting, it will take longer to wait for seedlings, while their root system will develop worse. Therefore, the planting depth should not exceed 5 cm.

Care Tips

Asparagus beans are very sensitive to cold. If there is even the slightest threat of frost, the planted area must be covered with a special film. To achieve a good harvest, you need to properly care for the crop. To carry out weeding, loosening, watering, fertilizing.

Watering

Immediately after planting, asparagus crops are watered once every 2 days. When the first shoots appear, irrigation is carried out as the soil dries up. It is important to supply moisture to the very root, watering is best done at the end of the day, when the sun is approaching sunset.

Experienced gardeners use a simple technique for moisturizing. For this, a quarter of the barrel is filled with freshly harvested weeds and filled with water. After a week, the culture is watered with such a solution, dissolving it in settled water (for 1 bucket of water - 1 liter of solution).

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Weeding and loosening

These procedures are required for any garden crop. First of all, it is necessary to track and remove weeds in time, which drown out the growth of the crop. Weeding and loosening is carried out after each moistening of the soil, until the plants reach 10 cm.

The first loosening of the soil is necessary when the sprouts reach a height of 7 cm.

Support

A strong footing is essential for climbing legumes. Its height should not be less than 1.5 cm. A special wire is pulled over the support from above, which will further guide the plants in the right direction.

Curly arrows that release shoots are also directed to the support, after which they themselves twist around it.

Pinching shoots

After the plants reach a height of 10 cm, they are spud. Thus, their root system is strengthened and nutrition is improved. After the plants gain a height of 2 m, they pinch the top. This is a must-have procedure for conserving nutrients, which will allow you to get a bountiful harvest.

Top dressing

Most gardeners use cow dung as fertilizer. They can mulch the soil or spray plants, first dissolving in water.

After the formation of the first leaves on the plants, superphosphate feeding is necessary. At the same time, chemical compositions are also used, but if possible, it is better to abandon them or replace them with organic fertilizers.

After the formation of buds, you can make top dressing with potassium salt. It accelerates the photosynthesis of plants and increases their resistance to pathogenic microorganisms.

Note! It is strongly not recommended to apply nitrogen fertilizers at the flowering stage. They provoke abundant growth of greenery, which leads to a deterioration in yield.

Harvesting

Beans belong to those crops, the fruits of which ripen in stages. It bears fruit before the first frost. It is important not to overripe the fruits, otherwise they will harden.

2-3 weeks after flowering, ovaries appear on the asparagus beans, and after another 10 days, gardeners get the first harvest. As mentioned above, this legume variety is characterized by the selective harvest of ripe pods.

If the fruits of the culture are overripe, they do not need to be plucked, since they will not have high taste characteristics. In this case, they are left to dry and harvested for seed.

Store asparagus beans as easy as assembling. After collecting the pods are sent for drying, after which the grains are removed from them. The crop is stored in two ways: in tightly closed glass jars at room temperature or frozen in the freezer.

Diseases and pests - prevention and treatment

Unfortunately, beans are susceptible to the negative effects of many pests and diseases. To grow a bountiful harvest, it is important to follow preventive measures. This is a standard preparation of seeds for planting, selection of good and fresh seed grains. After harvesting, the site is thoroughly cleaned of plant residues, including their rhizomes. To do this, it is plowed or dug deeply with a shovel. At the time of digging, the soil is fed with potassium or phosphorus.

Such actions will help reduce the likelihood of damage, but are not a guarantee of their complete absence.

Most often, asparagus beans are affected by fungi, garden insects and viral diseases. As a result, the root system of plants begins to rot. To the list of the most frequently met bean diseases includes:

• white rot;
• aphid;
• powdery mildew.

Culture can also be affected by anthracnose and mosaics.

To reduce the likelihood of damage to plants by powdery mildew, the seeds are soaked before planting in special preparations that increase their resistance. It is necessary to plant a crop under favorable weather conditions. The collected seeds are steamed with warm air before storage.

To prevent insects from growing in the bean pods, harvesting must be done before they crack. If small bugs have already started up, then the collected beans are determined for several days in a freezer or steamed in a water bath.

During the growing season, asparagus beans can be treated with agrochemicals, but no more than 1 time. To prevent such treatment from causing harm in the future, before the procedure, the plants are irrigated with biocompounds of a wide spectrum of action.

If purchased seeds are used for planting, you must carefully consider their choice. First of all, pay attention to their resistance to viral and fungal diseases. The manufacturer indicates this information on the packaging.