Bush beans, sometimes called snap beans and green beans, have a round habit and can be grown without a support or trellis. Some bush bean varieties are yellow (also called wax beans) or purple. At Gurney's, we grow bush beans in our trial gardens and select the varieties that offer the best in flavor, garden performance, disease resistance and yields. Our bush bean seeds for sale represent the best varieties for home gardeners.
Bush Bean Seeds from Gurney's
How to Choose the Right Bush Green Bean Seeds
When selecting bush bean seeds for the garden, first determine what type of beans you'd like: green, wax, purple or Roma. Then determine what qualities are important to you. These could include high yields, early producing, uniformity, flavor or disease resistance.
Getting Started with Bush Bean Seed varieties
Bush beans are easy to grow and have a long harvest period. If you continually pick beans throughout the summer, the plants will keep producing until frost. As with other vegetables, site selection is important to successfully grow bush beans. Select a location in the garden that receives full sun (at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily) and has well-drained soil.
What do bush bean plants look like
Bush bean plants grow about 18-24 inches tall with a slightly narrower spread. They have a bushy, rounded habit.
How to plant bush bean seeds
Bush bean seeds are directly sown into the ground in rows. The bean seeds are planted about 1 inch deep and about 4 inches apart. Space the rows about 30-36 inches apart. After planting, water well. Bush bean seeds should receive about 1 in. of water weekly throughout their lifecyle.
When to plant bush bean seeds
Bush beans are warm weather plants, and bean seeds can be directly sown into the garden when the soil has warmed. Sow bean seeds when the soil temperature has warmed to 60 degrees and all danger of spring frost has passed. If the soil is cold and wet, the bean seeds are less likely to germinate or will take longer to germinate.
How to collect and save bush bean seeds
Bush bean seeds are some of the easiest seeds to save. When saving bean seeds keep in mind that open-pollinated varieties (both parents are the same variety) tend to reproduce true to type while hybrid varieties (have parents of two different varieties) generally do not reproduce true to type. When collecting bean seeds, allow the pods to dry on the plant. When the pods are yellow or brown, bring them indoors and let them continue drying for at least two weeks before removing the seeds. Once the bush bean seeds are dried, they can be stored in sealed glass containers in a cool, dark place.
