Dwarf Bean Maxi - bean seeds

Phaseolus vulgaris - Maxi

An annual plant native to tropical regions of the Americas. It has a climbing stem that can reach a height of 1.5 - 2 metres. The fruit is a pod containing various numbers of kidney-shaped seeds. Depending on the variety, they differ in colour and size. Bean seeds are poisonous. They contain a substance called phaseolin. This is lost through cooking. Therefore, we do not consume uncooked seeds. The flowers are white, pink, yellow or purple and form sparse clusters. It blooms from June to August.

Beans contain a source of amino acids and ascorbic acid.

How to grow beans

• This is a heat-loving plant, so we plant it in a sunny location that is sheltered from the wind. During flowering, beans need temperatures ranging between 20–25 degrees Celsius. Beans are demanding in terms of watering, the soil must not dry out, but at the same time it must not be waterlogged! All types of beans need support. Ornamental varieties will stand out on pergolas, fences or in containers with climbing structures. We plant edible varieties next to stakes, or create a space for tying them up with string. We loosen the area around the plant and keep the soil weed-free. Regular harvesting of pods encourages the formation of further crops.

• We sow seeds in March. We plant seeds in permeable nutritious substrate and place in a bright location. Beans require warmth for germination, so a greenhouse or hotbed is suitable. We sow beans at their final location after 15 May, when there is no risk of frost.

  We sow bush varieties with 3-4 seeds in prepared holes about 5 cm deep, spaced about 20 cm apart.

  We sow climbing varieties with about 5 seeds in holes 5 cm deep and, depending on the type of support, up to a metre apart.

• Light sandy-loam soils with sufficient soil microorganisms and nutrients are suitable. Ideal pH around 6.5.

• We use NPK fertilisers with a low nitrogen ratio. In spring, it is recommended to apply 3 kg of nitrogen per m2, 3–4 kg P2O5/m2 and 11 kg K2O/m2 to the bean site in a single application. If beans are grown in nutrient-rich soil, fertilisers may not need to be applied at all.

• The most serious disease of beans is anthracnose. Browning, enlarging spots appear on young pods, the mycelium penetrates inside the pod and attacks the seeds, forming yellow-brown to red-brown spots on them. Treatment is carried out with chemical preparations - fungicides and elimination of post-harvest residues.

  Beans are also attacked by other fungal or bacterial infections, such as grey mould, brown leaf spot, bacterial spot, bean rust and others.

  The seedcorn maggot is a fly whose larvae attack germinating cotyledon leaves and the growing tip of the plant while still in the soil, especially in cooler, wet weather. Suitable protection is seed dressing with insecticides.

  A small, dark beetle - the bean weevil attacks seeds, in which it overwinters. This results in crop damage. Suitable protection is to store shelled seeds in the freezer (at -10 °C beetles die in 10-14 days, at -17 °C in just 8 hours).

• Harvesting for grain is carried out when the pods are drying and the seeds are firm, well ripened and fully coloured.

  For culinary use, we harvest still immature pods which, when slightly bent, will snap.