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in How to Grow, Legumes
How to Plant and Grow Snap Beans for a Productive Harvest
Over the years, I’ve learned that snap beans are one of the easiest and most rewarding crops to grow in a home garden. Whether you’re planting compact bush beans or climbing pole beans, they’re fast-growing, highly productive, and don’t require heavy feeding. I’ve grown snap beans in raised beds, containers, and traditional garden rows, and […] More
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in How to Grow, Legumes, Plant
The Ultimate Guide to Growing Snap Beans: From Planting to Harvest
snap beans growing guide More
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A Guide to Growing Snap Beans in Containers
I’ve found that growing beans in containers is one of the best ways to enjoy fresh, homegrown snap beans—especially if you’re short on garden space. Whether you have a balcony, patio, deck, or even a sunny indoor spot, beans thrive in pots with the right care. I’ve grown bush beans in large containers for quick […] More
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in How to Grow, Legumes, Plant
How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest Broad Beans, Fava Beans
Broad beans, also called fava beans, are a cool-season crop. The broad bean is a bushy, hardy annual that can grow from 3 to 4½ feet (.9-1.3m) tall. The broad bean has square stems with leaves divided into leaflets. Plant broad beans, also called fava beans, directly in the garden 4 to 7 weeks before […] More
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in How to Grow, Legumes, Plant
How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest Lima Beans
Lima beans are tender annuals grown for their flat, crescent-oval-shaped seeds. There are two types of lima beans: bush and pole or vine varieties. Bush types grow to about 2 feet tall (.6m) and tend to have smaller seeds; they bear more quickly than pole lima bean varieties. Pole lima beans have large seeds and […] More
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in How to Grow, Legumes, Plant
How to Grow Soybeans
Soybeans are bushy, free-branching, warm-weather annuals. There are more than 10,000 soybean cultivars. Seeds can be smaller than a pea or as large as a kidney bean. Soybeans grow 12 to 36 inches (30-91cm) tall. Stems and leaves are hairy. The flowers are white with lavender shading. Pods grow 1 to 4 inches (2.5-10cm) long […] More
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All About Dried Beans — Growing and Cooking
Dried beans are cooked and served in many ways–in salads, soups, casseroles, stews, and chilis. Dried beans can be served alone or as a side dish with meat or pasta or rice. Dried beans are commonly boiled and then sometimes baked or refried. Dried beans are beans whose seeds are dried and shelled after reaching […] More
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Five Ways to Quick Cook and Serve Snap Beans
Fresh, tender snap beans have a delicate flavor that is delicious eaten raw or just lightly cooked. Both the immature seeds and seed pods are edible. Green beans are snap beans, but snap beans can also be yellow, purple, and splotched in multiple colors. The peak season for fresh local snap beans is late spring […] More
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Shell Beans Serving Tips
Shell beans are any members of the legume family that are shucked or shelled. All beans grow in pods. Shell beans are cooked and served after they have been shelled. The pod is not eaten. Shell beans include black-eyed peas, cranberry beans, fava beans, and lima beans. Shell beans are also called shellies, shellouts, shelly […] More
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Five Ways to Cook and Serve Fava Beans
The fava bean—which is also known as the broad bean, English bean, Windsor bean, and horsebean–can be eaten fresh or dried. As fava beans mature, their flavor grows increasingly starchy and strong. The smallest beans—less than the size of a small fingernail—are the sweetest. The outer skins of medium- and large-sized fava beans have a […] More
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in How to Grow, Legumes, Plant
How to Plant and Grow Peas
Peas are a cool-weather crop; they must mature in cool weather. Grow peas in spring and sometimes autumn in cold-winter regions. Grow peas during the winter and early spring in mild-winter regions. Peas mature in about 60 days. Time your pea planting so your pea harvest comes during cool weather. That means planting peas in […] More
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How to Cook and Serve Garden and Snap Peas
How do you cook peas? Peas are cooked in the least possible amount of water and in just the time for them to become just tender. The French cook peas in the water it takes to moisten lettuce leaves. Line a saucepan with damp greens and a few pea pods, pour in the shelled peas, […] More