GARDEN BEANS 121 



Six Weeks are very good. Further data on varieties 

 will be found in an earlier chapter of this .book, 

 headed Varieties and Where They Succeed. 



Pole beans. All garden beans will stand heavy 

 fertilizing but pole sorts respond especially well to 

 liberal fertilizers. Pole beans require a longer sea- 

 son than bush varieties. The poles are sometimes 

 set 4 feet apart each way before the beans are 

 planted. Many growers set large posts at either end 

 of the row, then string wire; small stakes are at- 

 tached in the intervening distances. Still another 

 method is to set the end posts as before and stretch 

 two wires tightly, one 6 inches to I foot from the 

 ground, and another 4 feet from the ground. Small 

 wires are run between these two. The beans climb 

 on the small cross wires. Four to five seeds are 

 planted around each pole at a depth of I to i l /z 

 inches. Horticultural Pole beans or Speckled Cran- 

 berry and Golden Cluster are popular varieties of 

 pole beans among the kidney bean class. Profes- 

 sor Rane* has been very successful in growing early 

 beans under glass. He finds the time from germina- 

 tion to maturity under glass ranges from 54 to 62 

 days. Pole limas will be considered under the fol- 

 lowing head. 



Lima beans are even more tender than other 

 beans. It is, therefore, very important that the 

 ground be warm before they are planted, otherwise, 

 they may rot or get a weak start at best. The early 

 limas are usually planted in hills of four or five 

 seeds each, 3 to 4 feet apart each way. Stake^ are 

 provided as already mentioned. Dwarfs are set closer. 

 Jordan** reports that after trying out various ferti- 



*N H Bui 99. **N J Rpt 1898, pp 77-180. 



