Increasing Green Bean Production

You've tilled and carefully placed your seeds. You've watch the tiny bean plants emerge. The soil has been gently mounded to help the plants stay strong and the weeds have been removed. Your plants are blooming and suddenly the long awaited fruits of your labor emerge. Green beans are dangling from the stems. You've worked hard and the pay off is about to begin. Be sure to get the most for your labor with the following tips for keeping your beans producing through the summer.

1. No more tilling or hoeing.
Once your plants are blooming you should not run your tiller through the rows or hoe very deep into the soil. This bit of wisdom comes straight from my dad and a long line of Amish ancestors before him.

I don't come across this particular tip often, but it make sense. Beans have a shallow root system. Once they are blooming you don't want to disturb their roots and the fruit making process by disturbing the soil near them. No matter the logic behind it, it seems to work. And it is a good excuse to ease up on your weeding!

2. Pick frequently.
The plant's main goal is to produce mature seeds. Your main goal is to keep the plant from making mature seeds by harvesting immature seed pods. You have opposing goals. Consider it a competition.

Not all plants work this way, but when you stop a bean plant from making a mature seed (by picking the green bean,) the plant will try again. It will bloom. It will produce another seed pod. You will pick the seed pod before it matures. The plant will bloom and produce. You will pick. The plant will bloom. . . The two of you can keep up this game all summer long. In the end, the plant will give up and you will have a pantry full of green beans.

I try to pick at least every other day. I'm not saying it always happens, but that is the goal.

3. Pick gently.
Remember the roots are shallow. You can pull out the entire plant or break off a large part of it by tugging on a bean. Be gentle, but be thorough. Beans have a tricky way of hiding some of their fruit on the bottom side of the plant. Be sure to look carefully or you will have beans with huge seeds in them. That will send the plant a signal that it has made seeds. Well, you know what that means from tip two right? The plant is winning.


After putting so much time and energy into growing the bean plants, you want to maximize their production. These tips are easy and will help you get the best yield from your green beans. Enjoy!