LegumesFabaceae
Pole Beans.
Nitrogen fixerDeer favorite
At a glance
The spec sheet.
- Direct sow / out
- May 15
- Germ
- 7–14 days
- Days to harvest
- 65–80
- Spacing
- 6"
- Depth
- 1"
- Square-foot
- 8 per square trellised
- Qty target
- One trellis feeds a family through summer + freezer.
Plant
Direct sow at the base of a trellis, teepee, or corn stalk. One planting is usually enough — pole beans produce for months.
Care
Water at soil level. Guide the vines up the trellis for the first few weeks; after that they climb on their own.
Harvest
Pick every 1–2 days once beans reach pencil thickness. Frequent harvest keeps plants productive into September.
Blanched & frozen; dilly beans (pickled); dried shell beans (Rattlesnake, Cherokee Trail of Tears).
Companion planting
What pole beans likes, and doesn’t.
Good neighbors
- Corn
- Cucumber
- Radish
- Strawberries
- Summer savory
- Marigolds
- Nasturtiums
Pole beans + corn is the classic Three Sisters pairing — corn as trellis, beans fix nitrogen.