Butter Beans Won’t Bear

Question

I live in central Alabama and we experienced some very dry and hot weather for most of June. The rain has picked up now for the month of July. I have a 75′ row of running butterbeans. I thought I would have an abundance of beans by this time (we planted in April), but I have yet to get even one picking of enough beans for my husband and myself for dinner. I thought the heat was the culprit, but now I’m wondering if I sowed them too thickly.

The vines are gorgeous and dark green. They are growing vigorously, just top heavy with vines and NO BEANS!! Well, very few. I picked about 15 pods off of the entire 75′ row this morning. Would it be helpful to clip the tops off the vines? Maybe the plants are so thick that they can’t get any sun. My squash and string beans are doing the same thing.

Answer 1

All beans are nitrogen fixing plants so be careful to avoid heavy nitrogen feedings, as nitrogen-rich soils result in excessive vine growth and no beans. They may also take longer to set fruit in overly hot weather. Add more phosphorus to the soil.