BEANS 



573 



tection from frosts during the growing 

 season by furnishing excellent air drain- 

 age. While the danger from frosts in- 

 creases with the elevation, air drainage 

 Is the principal regulating factor. In 

 parts of Nez Perce county. Idaho, where 

 the deep canyons furnish good air drain- 

 age, beans are being grown successfully 

 at an elevation of 3,000 feet. In other 

 parts of the same county having a low- 

 er elevation but poor air drainage, this 

 crop can not be grown on account of the 

 late spring and early autumn frosts. 



The success of the bean crop also de- 

 pends upon the quantity of moisture 

 stored in the soil at the time of planting 

 and upon the cultural methods employed 

 In growing and harvesting the crop. 



Cultural Methods Used in Bean 

 Production 



Experience has demonstrated that the 

 success of the bean crop depends largely 

 upon the thorough preparation of the 

 seed bed. While it is not the general 

 practice, the work of preparation should 

 begin in the early autumn. The most 

 successful growers work the grain stub- 

 ble into the soil with a sharp disk har- 

 row soon after the coming of the first 

 fall rains. When the ground is plowed 

 after such treatment the stubble is even- 

 ly distributed throughout the soil, where 

 it quickly decays and prevents packing. 

 It is not always possible to disk the 

 stubble in the fall on account of the rush 

 of work at that season. If, however, the 

 plowing is delayed until the following 

 spring, fall disking is very necessary. 



Planting the Bean Crop 



Time to plant. — The time of planting 

 varies from May 10 to June 5, according 

 as the season is early or late. When 

 planted too early, cold weather, together 

 with an excessive quantity of moisture 

 in the soil, often causes the seed to de- 

 cay before germination begins. Even 

 if a good stand is secured under such 

 unfavorable conditions the crop usually 

 develops and ripens very unevenly. 



Method of planting. — The double-row 

 bean and corn planter is used almost ex- 

 clusively for planting the crop. An ex- 



cellent type of planter is now in use. 

 This planter may be adjusted to plant in 

 rows from 28 to 44 inches apart. By 

 using a special 30-inch wire it will also 

 plant the hills in 30-inch cross checks. 

 The feed plates may be made to drop the 

 desired number of seeds in each hill by 

 regulating their speed. The planter is 

 also equipped with an automatic hill- 

 drop attachment which drops the hills 

 from 17 to 52 inches apart in the row. If 

 the ground is so foul as to require ex- 

 tensive cultivation the beans should be 

 planted in checks with the hills 30 to 36 

 inches apart to permit cultivation in both 

 directions. 



It is considered very essential that the 

 number of plants grown on a certain 

 area be sufficient to maintain a proper 

 balance between the soil moisture and the 

 moisture requirements of the nlants. If 

 this balance is properly maintained the 

 beans ripen evenly and a uniform crop 

 is produced. In the sections where beans 

 are being grown at present, from six to 

 eight seeds in each hill produce the proper 

 number of plants. If a smaller number 

 of seeds is planted in each hill there is 

 often moisture enough in the ground to 

 keep the vines growing late in the fall, 

 and the late beans are sometimes dam- 

 aged by early fall frosts. This problem 

 must be worked out, however, for each 

 locality having different soil and moist- 

 ure conditions. 



A hand corn planter is often used for 

 planting where only a small acreage is 

 to be grown. The ground is marked off 

 in checks about 30 inches square and the 

 beans dropped at the intersection of the 

 marks. An experienced man can plant 

 from four to seven acres a day by this 

 method. If the ground is free from weeds, 

 so that but little cultivation Is necessary, 

 the seed is often planted in drill rows 

 with either a bean planter or an ordi- 

 nary grain drill. Of the two, a bean 

 planter which has a drill attachment is 

 the more desirable. 



A grain drill having feed cups which 

 will handle beans may be used with fair 

 success. An ll-row grain drill with a 

 space of seven inches between each drill 



