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How To Grow Kidney Beans in 10 Simple & Easy Steps!

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When the human diet comes to beans, these legumes are convenient to store and prepare. The legume family is large, but it is possible to mention three types of beans that can be eaten raw or cooked: green beans, kidney beans and runner beans.

Kidney bean is one of the most consumed beans worldwide, whether in the form of canned beans or dry beans.

This fact has to do with the numerous benefits of this type of legume. People are happy about these advantages, but they are not always aware of how easy it is to grow kidney beans.

In this article, we will discuss how to grow kidney beans. Fortunately for them, there are many different varieties of this legume, and not all of them need exceptional care to be grown.

How To Grow Kidney Beans
How To Grow Kidney Beans? via Wikimedia

A Guide on How To Grow Kidney Beans

One of the reasons why people do not attempt to grow kidney beans, even though they can easily be done, is due to the belief that only other legumes should be planted.

They think it is only possible to plant runner beans and green beans. Or maybe they believe it is too complicated to learn how to grow kidney beans.

Fortunately, this is not the case. This legume can grow extremely well, even in a container on a kitchen counter, if you have enough patience and dedication to take care of it until it blossoms. Here’s how to grow kidney beans.

Step 1: Purchase the Seeds

  • Seeds for kidney beans can be purchased and planted in the ground.
  • Instead of transplanting the plants, you should start with seedlings.
  • Pole beans and bush beans are both grown from the same seed.

Step 2: Choose the Right Location and Soil

  • When planting kidney beans at home, firstly, you need to choose a good place for them to settle.
  • This location needs to receive bright sunlight during the day, and it has to be warm, at least 10 degrees.
  • For healthy growth, kidney beans require at least 6 hours of full sun per day.
  • Also, the soil should not be too humid or dry; you can buy a potting mix with great results.
  • Once they have found that perfect place to grow kidney beans, all you need is patience.
  • These legumes take about two weeks of germination until they sprout and produce seeds.

Step 3: Prepare The Soil

  • Because the beans don’t respond well to excessive amounts of wetness, you’ll need to have a well-draining, loose soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0.
  • You won’t need to use mulch because kidney beans produce nitrogen.

Step 4: Choose the Right Type of Support

  • The two most typical ways to raise kidney beans are a planter or the ground.
  • If you’re putting seeds in the ground, a trellis or pole can help support your plant as it develops upward.
  • If you don’t have space in your garden, a planter can be used to grow a little bean bush.

Step 5: Dig the Holes

  • Create a series of one- to two-inch deep holes spaced four to six inches apart if you’re planting pole beans.
  • Plant bush beans at least 6 inches apart and at a depth of one to two inches if you’re planting them.
  • Dig a single hole with a depth of 1-2 inches in the middle of your planter if you’re growing a small bush in it.

Step 6: Sow the Seeds

  • Sow your seeds directly in the ground.
  • Like green beans and black beans, kidney beans have shallow roots, so sowing them directly into your soil instead of growing them in containers and transferring them later is the best option.

Step 7: Water the Sown Seeds

  • Make sure your bean seeds are well hydrated.
  • When the soil surrounding your plant appears dry, water your bean seeds.
  • Overwatering your seeds can cause them to decay.
  • If you’re planting bush beans, make sure to water them right away.
  • In 10 to 14 days, the process usually should commence.

Step 8: Protect the Bean Plant

  • Keep an eye on your beans.
  • Pull weeds out by hand to protect your bean plants from them.
  • You can also use a small circle of mulch to protect the plant from weeds growing into it.
  • If you have aphids, slugs, or leafhoppers, keep an eye on them and utilize organic fungicides if you have bean rust or powdery mildew.
  • If other types of legumes are also growing around it, especially runner beans and green beans, it is good to note that they make great neighbors.
  • The three types of beans complement each other’s growth, which is why they are often planted together.
  • They can blossom simultaneously, meaning that you have a continuous supply of these legumes without having to spend too much time caring for them.

Step 9: Germination

  • Beans need about two weeks until they’re mature enough to germinate.
  • You should not worry about them too much because the beans need very little care during this time, but just regular watering every day.
  • Keep your soil moist and warm throughout this process, but not so moist that it’s dripping or wet.
How To Grow Kidney Beans 2
Kidney Beans via Wikimedia

Step 10: Harvesting the Beans

  • You can harvest them when your plant is full of green, healthy beans.
  • Approximately 100-140 days after planting, kidney beans are normally ready to harvest by the end of spring.
  • Bean pods that are mature are straw-colored, hard on the inside and dry outside.
  • To determine if a kidney bean pod is ripe, lightly bite on it (ripened beans would be too hard to bite through), but don’t eat it because raw kidney beans can be harmful.
  • To harvest the beans, remove the whole bean plant out from the soil and dangle it upside down in a dry, dark, and warm location for a few days (or weeks in some situations).
  • Pinch the pods from the bean plant once they’ve hardened completely and harvest the seeds inside.
  • To keep unused beans fresh for longer, store them in an airtight container.

Final Remarks

Growing kidney beans at home are not extremely difficult, but they do need a bit more effort than just throwing seeds in the ground and waiting for them to blossom.

If you reside in a mild environment and have relatively neutral soil, kidney beans are simple to cultivate. They’re low-maintenance plants that don’t want to be watered excessively.

Kidney beans are best grown in the ground, but if you choose a pot with a diameter of at least 12 inches, they can be a wonderful vegetable garden container idea. One seed per container should be planted.

You should know that if their beans start to come out with flowers but no fruit, it means they need more nitrogen in the soil.

Don’t be discouraged if your beans are slow in coming up, don’t worry much about their appearance, and try not to let weeds get to them. If you can do that, then your beans will grow fine you’ll have a terrific harvest in the end! Still, the result is more than worth it!

Now that you know how to grow kidney beans, you will continuously supply this legume for use in your favorite dishes. Not only are they very nutritious themselves, but when combined with other beans, they make a great meal.