How to Grow Green Beans
On this page
French beans are a frost-tender crop, so hold off sowing until soil temperatures reach at least 15.6°C for germination — temperatures at or below about 7°C will damage the plant tissue.
The short answer
- Ready in
- 50–70 days
- Site
- 6+ hours of sun, soil pH 5.5–7.5
- Biggest risk
- Bean anthracnose
Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.
Green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)
13 sources cited · Verified
Quick Facts
| Factor | Value |
|---|---|
| Soil pH | 5.5 - 7.5 |
| Sunlight | 6-10 hours direct sun |
| Germination temp | 15.6°C |
| Optimal growing temp | 16-25°C |
| Minimum growing temp | 7°C |
| Time to harvest | 50-70 days |
| Soil texture | RHS: "well-drained soil"; amend with "at least two bucketfuls per square metre/yard" of garden compost or well-rotted manure. |
| Drainage | RHS: well-drained, in a "warm, sunny spot". |
| Lifecycle | tender annual; frost will damage plant tissue |
| Edible parts | pods |
| Documented problems | 4 diseases, 13 pests |
At a Glance
Diseases
Pests
Soil & Growing Conditions
Water: RHS: French beans are "thirsty plants" -- water "during dry weather, especially once they start to flower and form pods"; "Regular watering is particularly important for plants growing in containers". Univ. of Maryland: "Keep the root zone moist by watering deeply and regularly during dry periods. Water more frequently when pods begin to develop".
Soil pH range
Span reflects genuine variation between the cited authorities, not a single agreed figure.
Growth Stages
| Stage | BBCH | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sowing & germination | 0 | Sow 5cm deep -- indoors from mid-spring, or direct once frost risk has passed. RHS. |
| Establishment | 3 | Dwarf varieties spaced 15cm apart in blocks or double rows, reaching up to 45cm tall. Climbing varieties sown one or two seeds at the base of each cane and trained up as they grow. RHS. |
| Flowering & pod set | 6 | Dwarf beans start to crop in just eight to ten weeks from sowing; climbing varieties take longer to reach cropping. RHS. |
| Cropping | 8 | Pick pods at 15-20cm long, once they snap easily. Dwarf plants crop for only a few weeks; climbing varieties crop over a longer period, from mid-summer into early autumn. Regular picking is what keeps the plant producing more pods. RHS. |
Harvest & Storage
When to pick: Both sources use the snap test. RHS: pods are "ready when they snap easily and before the individual beans can be seen through the pod", picked at "15-20cm (6-8in) long". Univ. of Maryland: "seeds will be ¼ of full size; seed should not cause pods to bulge. Pods should be tender and break easily with a snap".
Storage
Univ. of Maryland: store "In a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to one week. Beans freeze well". RHS refers only to storing saved seed over winter, not the crop.
French Beans, Sown to Pod
Plan your Green Beans planting
Timing for Green Beans follows soil temperature and frost, not the calendar date. The Global vegetable planting calendar explains the method. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.
Growing Green beans in another region
Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.
Sources
These 2 sources are specific to this region. The full list of 13 sources behind this guide (Clemson Cooperative Extension, FAO EcoCrop, Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and others) is in the references of our UK guide to french beans; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do french beans take to grow?
Typically 50–70 days, depending on cultivar and growing conditions.
What soil pH do french beans need?
A pH of about 5.5–7.5. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.
What problems affect french beans?
Our data links 4 diseases and 13 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.
Plan next season before the problems start
This page gives you the thresholds; the planner turns them into your own calendar. It works from what you can observe and measure in your garden rather than from dates written for somebody else’s latitude.
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How this guide is put together
The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against international horticultural research and extension sources. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.
Related Problem Guides
Last verified 2026-08-06
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Where To Go From Here
Take this crop from reading into a written plan for your own beds.
Keep going
Plan the next step
Use the printable SoilCommander planner for your region to turn this guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and weekly garden tasks.