Phaseolus vulgaris var. vulgaris
Pole bean
Common names: Climbing bean, Snap bean
Photo: Rasbak · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The pole bean climbs several meters high on stakes or twine, producing pods from July until frost. It requires more space and a support structure than bush beans, but yields over a much longer period. Like all beans, it fixes nitrogen in the soil and is toxic when raw, only cooked beans are safe to eat.
Care instructions
Before sowing, set up a sturdy stake or bean trellis. From mid‑May (week 20) plant four to six seeds at the base of each stake. Initially guide the young shoots counter‑clockwise toward the support. Water evenly and harvest pods young and regularly to encourage continued growth.
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
loamy, humus-rich, well-drained, nutrient-rich
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
Apr–May
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
Companion planting
Good neighbors
cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
particularly well establishedLeguminous plants collect nitrogen in the soil, from which Brassicaceae benefit as heavy feeders.
For example White cabbageRadishKalebroccolicauliflowerbeet greens and 33 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
carrot family (Apiaceae)
Peas and beans provide carrot and celery with nitrogen and grow as shallow-rooted plants without competition next to each other.
For example Carrotcelery rootDillParsleyCarrot fennelCoriander and 18 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
gourd family (Cucurbitaceae)
Beans and peas enrich the soil with nitrogen, which cucurbits, as heavy feeders, can make good use of.
For example Pumpkinpickling cucumberButternutHokkaidoPatissonSpaghetti squash and 12 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
Rather not
amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae)
particularly well establishedAllium species inhibit the nitrogen‑fixing rhizobia of legumes through their root exudates, which slows their growth.
For example ChivesDaffodilRed OnionshallotWinter Oniongarlic chives and 6 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop‑rotation rule
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
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Varieties
6 varieties‘Blauhilde’
With *‚Blauhilde’*, one of the most reliable pole beans for the home garden: The violet, round pods shine clearly in…
‘Borlotto Lingua di Fuoco’
An Italian Borlotto bean that you mainly grow as a dry and seed bean.
‘Cobra’
You’ll enjoy *‚Cobra’*, a high‑yielding green pole bean that starts early and stays long.
‘Fortex’
The *‚Fortex’* bean is a filet or princess bean that you can harvest for a long time without the pods becoming stringy or tough.
‘Neckargold’
The wax bean among the classics: its bright yellow, slightly curved pods are easy to spot in the green foliage and look particularly decorative on the plate.
‘Neckarkönigin’
A proven classic that has stood in many gardens since the 1960s.
Notes from real gardens
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From the magazine
Pole Beans: Support, Varieties and the Harvest That Never Stops
Pole beans use the airspace nobody else plants into. How to build a sturdy bean tepee, why beans always climb anticlockwise, and how steady picking keeps the harvest going for weeks.
Bean variety: bush, pole, runner, broad and lima at a glance
Five bean types, five roles in the garden and the kitchen. Which bean goes in when, which one climbs, why they feed the soil and why you must never eat one raw.