Beans & Peas in Your Vegetable Garden

1. Beans & Peas in Your Vegetable Garden Jon Traunfeld

4. Garden to table!

5. All in the family… • Green bean (bush and pole) • Lima bean (bush and pole) • Shell beans • Garden pea/edible pod pea • Cowpea • Soybean • Scarlet runner bean • Peanut These are all members of the Leguminosae (a.k.aFabaceae) plant family and are referred to as legumes ‘Borlotto’, an heirloom shell bean

6. Other edible legumes • Garbanzo bean (chickpea) • Lablab (hyacinth) bean • Tepary bean • Pigeonpea • Lentil • Fava bean Fava bean flowers Photo: Luke Gustafson

7. Beans popular in Asian cuisine • Soybean • Yard-long bean • Sword bean • Winged bean

8. Two snow pea varieties Photo: Erica Smith Add pea flowers and shoots to salads ‘Sugar Snap’ peas Photo: Kent Phillips

9. Reasons to grow legumes • Most grow well in MD; good beginner crop • Lots of different types • You get a lot from a small space • Multiple crops each season • Easy to save seed • Can be frozen, canned, pickled, and dried • “Fix” nitrogen from the air

10. N-fixation • Rhizobia (bacteria) occur naturally in soil. They infect legume roots and form a symbiotic relationship • Plant forms protective nodules around multiplying bacteria • N2 gas is transformed by rhizobia into ammonia (NH3) that plant cells use to make plant compounds (especially proteins) • Red or pink color in nodule cross-section indicates that rhizobia are active Rhizobia nodules

11. Inoculation can increase yield

12. And they are pretty!

13. Planting basics • Full sun location: 6-8 hours of direct sunlight • 6-8 inches of loose, fertile soil • Start planting beans in late April/early May; bush beans can be planted up to early July • Plant peas (cool-season crop) in March/April for June harvest. Difficult to grow a fall crop • Note: seeds may rot if planted in cold, wet soil

14. Planting tips • Drag a stick or tool through the soil to make a shallow furrow • Drop seeds every 1-4 inches (follow packet instructions) • Cover with soil (½-inch in spring and 1-inch in summer). Press down to make good seed-soil contact • To save space, plant bush beans and snap peas in short rows 1-2 feet apart

15. Get a head start… • Soak seeds in water overnight prior to planting • Pre-germinate seeds indoors on moist paper towels • Start seeds indoors and set out transplants

16. Growing tips • Apply nutrients according to soil test results. Nitrogen is nutrient most often in short supply • Water your planted seeds and young plants if needed. Don’t let them get water-stressed! • Remove weeds by hand or with a hoe or weeder. A layer of organic mulch will prevent weeds and keep the soil moist and cool in summer • Pick pods as soon as they are ready. This stimulates new flower and pod growth

17. If possible, install drip irrigation: it saves time and water Tatsoi plants in a bed with a drip line for each row Photo: Kent Phillips

18. If possible, use vertical space • Increase yields per sq. ft. • Easier to water, fertilize and harvest. • Adds complex texture to garden; use shaded side for lettuce and spinach

19. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) • Organic pesticides are a last resort • Plant flowering plants in and around the garden that provide nectar and pollen for beneficial insects that eat pest insects. Examples: mountain mint, anise hyssop (left), thyme, oregano, basil, dill, yarrow, aster, marigold, zinnia, alyssum, phlox, bee balm, milkweeds, butterfly weed, borage, salvias, lamb’s ear

20. Biological control • Give mother nature a chance! • Predators eat pests • Parasitoids lay their eggs on or in pests; larvae consume the host

21. Some natural predators (good guys) Assasin bug Orb-weaver spider Mantid eating a stink bug Lady beetle larva

22. Some bean plant enemies #1: Mexican bean beetle- “skeletonizer” Adult, larva, and egg mass

23. Who has been eating my leaves at night?

24. #2: Night-feeding beetles! Oriental beetle Bean leaf beetle

25. #3: Japanese beetle populations fluctuate year to year

26. #4: Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) Eggs and young nymphs Adults feeding on bean pods Photo: Entomolgy Dept., UFL Injury image from plantManagementnetwork.org

27. 2nd to 5th instar BMSB USDA ARS

28. “Stippling” symptom during hot, dry weather? Look at leaf undersides for spider mites.

29. #5: Spider mites European red mites on leaf underside

30. #6: The kudzu bug, an exotic invasive pest, has arrived- late season feeding possible on all garden beans. http://mdkudzubug.org/ Top photos (eggs and nymphs): Joe Eger, Dow Agrociences, Bugwood.org Right photo (adult): Alan Leslie, UM

31. Organic management • Grow healthy plants with the right amounts of sun, space, water, nutrients • Improve soil quality with organic matter • Remove weeds; clean up and compost garden residues • Handpick insect pests and remove damaged and diseased leaves • Only use organic pesticides as a last resort. Don’t spray when flowers are open • Try using floating row covers

32. Floating row covers • First line of defense against spring frost • Hastens germination and promotes early growth • Excludes pests- rabbits, birds, deer, beetles, etc. • Can be left on for entire lifecycle of early bean or pea plants • Note: can trap excessive heat and damage plants after July

33. Floating row cover supported by #9 wire above; bird netting supported by pvc pipe below Enviromesh protects crops from insects and wildlife

34. Resources extension.umd.edu/hgic extension.umd.edu/learn/ask-gardening marylandgrows.umd.edu extension.umd.edu/mg • Take a food gardening class • Find local community gardens • Learn about youth/school gardens extension.umd.edu/growit

35. This program was brought to you by University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener Program _______________________ County