Beans & peas
Kidney beans (dry)
Direct sow late May, soil 60F+; dry on plant.
- Outside
- Direct after frost, soil 60F+, late May
- Where
- In ground or raised bed
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Even while pods fill; ease off as pods yellow
- Harvest
- Sep to Oct, dry on plant
Care
- Water
- A deep soak while the plants grow and the pods fill, every 3 to 4 days in a dry summer week and less when rain helps; established plants shrug off a short dry stretch. A 2 inch finger test settles it in the heat. Ease off once the pods yellow so the beans cure standing, and water the soil, not the leaves.
- Sow
- Direct sow once, late May, when soil holds 60F, an inch deep and about 4 inches apart in a wide block. No succession and no thinning; a rhizobia inoculant helps on ground new to beans.
- Feed
- Beans make their own nitrogen, so a shovel of compost or castings worked in at planting covers the whole season. No extra feed; too much nitrogen grows lush plants and few pods.
- Ready
- Leave every pod on the plant until the leaves yellow and drop and the beans rattle papery inside, September into October. Shell once they barely dent under a thumbnail.
- Trouble
- Wet September before the pods dry: lift the entire plants and hang them to finish under a roof. Lacy leaves: Mexican bean beetle, though a dry-bean patch shrugs off cosmetic damage, so act only if it runs heavy. Wilt and stem rot: white mold, space wider and rotate 3 years.
In a bag?
- No
- A dry bean pays by the square foot, not the plant, and a bag under 15 gallons holds too few to bother; give it the open ground or a bed with room for a wide block.
A long, quiet crop: kidney beans sown in late May and then ignored until the pods rattle in September. Yield per square foot is modest, which is exactly why they get ground instead of bags.
Growing
Wait for soil to hit 60F, usually late May, then direct sow in the ground or a raised bed; a 15 gallon bag technically works, but the harvest will disappoint. Space close, about four inches, in wide rows, because a dry-bean patch is a volume game. The season is hands-off from there: no picking, no succession, just weeding and even water while pods fill. Leave everything on the plant until pods go papery and the beans inside barely dent under a thumbnail, September into October. If frost or a wet week threatens first, pull whole plants and finish them hanging under cover.
Varieties
Charlevoix is a dark red kidney bred for northern seasons; Montcalm is the commercial standard and does fine here.
Pests
Mexican bean beetles graze the leaves, but a dry-bean planting tolerates cosmetic damage; intervene only if leaves go lacy. The real enemies are a rainy September and rodents raiding dry pods, and the answer to both is pulling plants promptly to finish indoors.
In the kitchen
Shelled on a winter afternoon and jarred, they cook up creamier than anything from a store bag. Chili is the obvious destination and the honest reason they get the space.