The bean plant is included in the list of vegetables whose benefits are difficult to overestimate. The protein composition of the culture is close to that of fish and meat. The vegetable is perfectly absorbed by the body. In addition to its nutritional potential, it has a powerful healing effect used in folk and official medicine. The unpretentious plant takes its rightful place in garden plots and fields of agricultural enterprises.
Features of beans
This vegetable first appeared in South America and spread throughout the world, adapting to the climatic conditions of a particular country. When describing common beans, one cannot fail to mention that this plant is a legume. This family includes a large number of varieties and varieties, which allows us to create only an approximate, generalized portrait of the culture.
The stem is a herbaceous, erect or climbing trunk, the lower part of which becomes woody over time and turns into a taproot, branching root. Pair-pinnate, trifoliate leaves. The elongated racemes are covered with butterfly flowers, the color of which depends on the type of bean.
Long hanging fruits can be straight or curved and hide 2-8 elliptical seeds behind the valves.
Types and varieties
About one hundred types of beans are known, which are divided into groups:
- Hulling (grain). Only the grains are edible. It is grown as a table and fodder crop. It is important to wait until the seeds ripen.
- Asparagus (sugar). High in vitamins and proteins. It does not have a parchment layer and hard fibers. Not only the beans, but also the entire pod are used for food. Can be consumed fresh, as part of salads and vegetable dishes. It is important not to be late in harvesting.
- Semi-sugar. Coarse fibers must be removed before use.
- White. Cooking tips: use a moderate amount of water and do not stir the beans. A small amount of protein and a large part of iron makes this product indispensable for overweight people and the elderly.
- Red (curly). With thick curved pods and red beans. Indispensable for preparing first courses, suitable for side dishes and salads.The rich content of vitamins and fiber has a positive effect on the nervous and immune systems and improves skin condition.
- Black. It is distinguished by its black color, silky bean surface and smoky flavor with a sweetish tint. Good in soups, salads, desserts and baked goods.
- Capsicum. The juicy, fleshy green pods with tender seeds are eaten whole. The presence of fiber and complex carbohydrates determines the inclusion of beans in the diet.
- Decorative. It is used for landscape design - as if it was created for this. The color of bean flowers matches the color of the fruit. Bean leaves form shade for gazebos and terraces.
Dividing varieties by ripening time:
- early ripening;
- mid-early;
- average;
- mid-season;
- late.
Appearance serves as another sign of qualification:
- bush;
- curly;
- semi-curly.
Common varieties of vegetable beans that are popular among summer residents and gardeners:
- Purple Queen. Average ripening period. Almost black fruits reach 15 cm. Resistant to viral diseases and drought.
- Melody. An early climbing variety with flat pods 13 cm long.
- Crane. A low-growing pod variety with tender fruits, suitable for freezing and canning.
- Butter king. It is distinguished by high yield and exquisite taste.
- Hell Rem. Curly look. It stands out as pink grains with a mushroom flavor.
- Yubileinaya 287. Low-growing early variety with immunity to common diseases.
- Dokuchaevskaya. Bush, drought-resistant, not subject to shedding. Has excellent taste.
- Generous. Early ripening, large-fruited. Suitable for preservation.
After familiarizing yourself with the types and characteristics of beans, it is not difficult to choose the variety that is right for you.
Growing beans
By following the recommendations for growing crops, you can get a storehouse of microelements, vitamins and minerals without going beyond the boundaries of your site.
Seed preparation
Before sowing the seeds, they need to be sorted, removing sluggish, empty, damaged ones. The fullness of the beans is determined by soaking them in salted water - unsuitable specimens will float to the surface. It is recommended to soak the seed material for 6 hours in warm water, 20 minutes in a manganese solution and 2 hours in a wood ash solution. Then the beans are washed, slightly ventilated and only then planted in moist soil. Treatment with fungicides immediately before planting or short-term placement in a solution of boric acid + ammonium in order to prevent the appearance of nodule weevil is not prohibited.
Landing dates
Sowing beans is carried out in soil heated to 12 degrees, to a depth of 10 cm. The air temperature should not fall below +15 degrees during the day, and the threat of night frosts has passed. Heat-loving climbing varieties are planted a week later than bush varieties. The exact date is determined by the climatic conditions of the region.
Environmental requirements
The vegetable plant grows successfully when the lighting is artificially shortened by covering the beds with opaque material. Due to the short daylight hours (up to 12 hours), fruiting occurs more quickly and the yield increases. It is important to follow these recommendations at the beginning of the growing season.
Many modern varieties of domestic selection are neutral to the length of daylight hours.
Precursors for beans
Beans should be planted after cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, cabbage or tomatoes and not returned to the same place earlier than three years later.It would be good to have the crop next to potatoes, beets, carrots, onions, and cabbage. But the richest harvest is obtained when growing next to cucumbers. Under no circumstances should beans be planted close to legumes; this will attract pea moth, capable of destroying plantings.
Soil preparation
The vegetable responds to proper soil preparation, which includes:
- choosing a dry place;
- autumn digging of the site;
- applying a moderate amount of organic fertilizers;
- liming of acidic soils;
- loosening the earth by adding sand;
- sprinkling the ridges with wood ash;
- spring harrowing.
Despite its unpretentiousness, the culture languishes in the shade and on marshy soils.
Sowing beans
Bean seeds laid out in furrows at a distance of 20-25 cm, at a depth of 3-5 cm. The interval between rows depends on the variety: 30-60 cm. When planting climbing and semi-climbing species, take into account the place for support, which is installed 15 cm from the plant. Such varieties are often used to compact other vegetable crops that are compatible with legumes, or are planted along the fence. Mixed plantings benefit the plants, as beans enrich the soil with nitrogen.
To get an early harvest, you need to grow plants in seedlings. Seedlings are planted on ridges at the end of April in the phase of two leaves and covered with plastic film.
You cannot sow beans in unheated soil; the seeds will rot at the development stage.
Care
Agrotechnical measures include weeding, loosening, watering, fertilizing, and, if required, thinning and pruning. Determinate bushes need the least attention. Climbing and semi-climbing varieties are responsive to regular feeding.
Timing for watering beans
A moisture-loving plant should not suffer from a lack of water, especially during the formation of pods.Watering is carried out once a week, the main thing is to prevent the soil from drying out. It is recommended to use warm, settled water.
Features of the fertilizer
During the growing season, beans are fed three times:
- When a pair of leaves appears, fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium are applied at the rate of 20 g per square meter.
- At the very beginning of flowering, plants require an additive in the form of potassium chloride: 15-20 g per square meter or a glass of wood ash.
- During the ripening period of the blades, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are again applied.
An excess of fertilizers leads to the growth of tops and a decrease in the number of ovaries.
Garter beans
Climbing varieties of beans need to be fixed on trellises or mesh with large cells. You can stretch wire or twine between the supports. Sometimes the nest planting method is used, planting beans around a stake with pieces of twine running in all directions, along which the stems rise.
Diseases and pests
Beans are susceptible to diseases caused by viruses, bacteria and fungi. Downy mildew, anthracnose, legume mosaic, and white rot can cause the greatest damage. In order to prevent diseases, the use of copper-containing drugs is effective. Of the insect pests, the crop is most often affected by slugs, which should be destroyed, weeds removed, and the soil moistened.
Locusts, sprout flies, whiteflies and aphids are dangerous. Chemical and biological agents will serve as protection for plants. It helps to attract beneficial (predatory) insects to the site, such as the rider, gall midge, ladybug, and lacewing.The development of diseases is prevented by neutralization of acidic soils, processing of seed material, compliance with crop rotation, and burning of plant residues.
Harvest and storage
Young fruits are suitable for fresh consumption 14 days after flowering. The pods are cut with scissors in the morning. Storage is possible in canned or frozen form. When a crop is grown for grain, you need to wait until the fruits dry, cut the stems, tie them into bunches and hang them up to allow the seeds to ripen. Hulled beans are placed in glass jars and sealed. The specimens selected as seed material are stored in the refrigerator.
For preservation, the product is used boiled, soaked in warm water overnight before cooking. Further actions depend on the selected recipe.
Green beans are frozen as follows:
- washed pods are laid out on paper towels to get rid of excess moisture;
- the pods are randomly chopped;
- distributed into packages;
- placed in the freezer.
In order to preserve the green color, it is recommended to blanch the beans.
Beans are a nourishing and healthy product, suitable for preparing a side dish and included in various dishes. The unpretentiousness of this vegetable crop makes it possible for even an inexperienced gardener to obtain a rich harvest.
