Bean – ‘Kentucky Wonder’ Pole
I’ve got two bean varieties growing in the garden this year, “Kentucky Wonder” pole beans and “Kitchen King” bush beans. The difference is similar to indeterminate vs. determinate for tomatoes; pole beans will climb a pole or string and need a structure to spread on, where bush beans will grow well in a bed with a wire cage around them.
Kentucky Wonders are supposed to be a rust-resistant heirloom variety. They’re supposed to be planted four or six to a “hill”. I planted four each in two of the weird half square foot sections at the edge of the garden, with the note that I’ve had a hard time keeping plants happy in those areas. I think the roots might get too warm at the bed edges… but this is on the north face, so we’ll see if it works out. They should be harvested when they’re six to eight inches long.
My Notes
- Batch 1
- Seeded in bed on 9 April09. Sprouted by 17April09.
- Batch 2
- Seeded indoors in seed trays on 13Apr09 for use in upside-down planters. They all croaked, very low germination rate.
- Batch 3
- Seeded in the garden in hills of 3 plants each about six inches apart. Took off and grew great. Direct-sowing is definitely the way to go with these guys.
Photographs
Good morning!
A Kentucky Wonder pole bean spreading it's leaves to the sun.
Kentucky Wonder beans growing up a pole on 3May09.
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