Container Vegetables: Beans and Peas

In  an earlier post I talked about Sugar Snap Peas, which are quick growing, early harvest, and delicious right off the vine.  Because they're vining and tend to get several feet tall, you may not think they'd be very well suited to a container garden.  But check this out:

 You could create a trellis by wrapping some garden twine around your hanging basket.  If you have a railing around your balcony you could also plant them in a regular pot right next to it for them to climb on.  A tomato cage in the pot would work just fine, too.

Now let's talk beans:

There are about a zillion types, and it sure can get confusing trying to keep them all straight:  runner, pole, bush, snap, shell, dry, long, and so on.  I think you could probably grow any type you'd like with the right container and support, and I encourage experimentation!

For our purposes though, I'd like to talk about plain old ordinary green beans.  When buying seeds, make sure the package says "bush," which means the plants will be short and bushy.  ("Pole" beans need support, and will grow tall and thin.)  The picture above shows them growing in a long narrow container, and that's what I'd recommend for an abundant harvest.  Of course whatever you've got will work, and don't worry about giving each plant two feet of space, or whatever the crazy recommendation on the package will be.  Plant the seeds just 2-4 inches apart after danger of frost has passed.

The more you pick green beans, the more the plants will produce, so harvest as often as you can.  You should have more than you can eat from just a few plants, but once production slows, go ahead and pull out the plants, add a little fresh soil to your container, and plant a second crop for late summer harvest!