Seedlings

Question

Hello there! I accidentally acquired two Organic Purple Bean seedlings (I thought I was purchasing harvested beans from a local farmer, silly me). I might as well give them a try, but I’ve never done any gardening in my life.
What do I need to know?
I live in Georgia, and will only use organic gardening methods, if that helps.

Answer 1

The first thing to determine is whether these are pole or bush beans. Do you have a tag? Pole beans can grow to 6ft tall and are difficult to grow in a container for that reason. Bush beans are perfect for in=ground or container gardening. You can put 2 plants in a 12″ diameter pot that is 10″ deep. Pole beans need something to climb which can be bamboo poles or even a tall tomato cage. You’ll need fertilizer, potting soil and something to water with. Mulch the top with compost, chopped leaves, straw or wood chips to decrease moisture loss. Before you plant, spend a week getting these tender seedlings used to outdoor conditions. This takes a week and is very important. Start them in the shade and slowly increase the amount of direct sunlight they get. Six hours is the minimum for many vegetables. Over the week, slowly decrease the amount of water they get. If they are tiny peat pots, put them in a plastic container while getting them used to outside. Plain peat pots dry out very quickly! Don’t set them out until your “frost free date” as beans will die if frosted. Look this up on the web by zipcode. I suggest you look your plant up in an online seed catalog like Burpee or Johnny Seeds and read about plant care.