Beans In Colorado 
7 
be very shallow so as to make the furrow to be filled about the 
growing plants as shallow as possible. 
It is not always necessary to plow land in preparing a bean 
seed bed. Where the land was well plowed the year previous and 
in wheat, a good seed bed may be prepared without plowing, pro¬ 
vided the wheat stubble is disked right after the binder to keep 
down weeds in the fall. The spring preparation may consist of 
disking when the weeds start, which will destroy the weeds and 
prevent the formation of a crust, and then disking and harrowing 
immediately before planting. After a cultivated crop such as 
corn, which has been well cultivated, a seed bed may often be pre¬ 
pared by disking and harrowing. 
On irrigated lands after sugar beets or potatoes, it is not 
necessary to plow in preparing a bean seed bed. Disking, level¬ 
ing and harrowing will be sufficient in these circumstances. 
PLANTING 
Care in Selecting Seed Beans .—The importance of getting 
good seed beans is sufficient to warrant special care in picking 
the seed. It is worth while taking a little extra care in Colorado 
on account of the short seasons. In many localities there is dan¬ 
ger of beans being frost bitten in the early fall. Sometimes this 
light freezing will very materially weaken the germ so that the 
crop will have very small germinating power, altho the frost may 
not be sufficient to injure the beans seriously for market purposes. 
Care should therefore be taken not to use beans for seed which 
have been frost bitten before full maturity. 
Many of the diseases which affect beans leave spots on the 
beans themselves. One of the most effective remedies in combat¬ 
ting bean diseases is to pick out plants for seed which are not af¬ 
fected by the disease. Accordingly all seed beans should be from 
plants selected in the field and hand picked. Plants having discol¬ 
ored beans with strange colored spots should be rejected, planting 
only from those having bright, clean seed. 
These statements hold, no matter what variety of beans are 
planted. 
Time to Plant .—Beans are a hot weather crop. Seed is injur¬ 
iously affected if it is planted in cold soil. Germination will not 
take place while the soil is cold, and if the soil happens to be wet 
enough, rotting may take place before the soil warms up suffi¬ 
ciently to permit germination. 
Beans will not stand any frost. The very slightest degree of 
frost is apt to kill them entirely. On account of these reasons, 
beans should not be planted until the soil is thoroly warmed up. 
