This is a place to share your experiences growing common beans in 2026!
We encourage any and all discussion around growing common beans, but especially appreciate reports on growing out the 2026 GTS Seed Share mixes. Also please consider saving seeds from your best plants and returning them to the Seed Share program!
We direct sow common beans when the soil is 70 degrees F (21 deg C), which isn’t until around June 1 here in Corbett, OR. You might get away with planting a bit earlier, but remember that beans don’t really like cold conditions and consider waiting for a warm spell. But some people in our group have good results planting as early as March.
Spacing recommendations vary for common beans, in my experience a spacing of 6 in. seems to work well, but you may choose to crowd plants if your goal is maximum diversity more than overall yield. Dry beans may benefit from relatively more space to ensure better air flow during drying, where fresh beans may tolerate more crowding, especially fresh eating pole types.
It’s best to stop watering when pods begin to dry down, which can be challenging in areas with fall rain. If needed, you can pull entire plants and finish drying indoors. You can pop dry beans out of their pods by hand as a fun activity, or pound in a pillowcase for medium scales, or drive over tarped beans on larger scales. Winnowing with a breeze or box fan can work well, screens can be helpful on larger scales.
When my community did taste testing of maximum diversity dry beans, we found that they were absolutely delicious, with varying but completely compatible texture. I think some people worry about varying cooking times for diverse dry beans, but we found that it’s not an issue with a simple pot of beans. Cook until the firmest beans are tender, and the smaller beans will begin to break down into a rich broth.
I know some of you are interested in growing pole beans on corn and I’d love to hear more about your experiences.
Last year I had the most success yet after adding more varieties of “cornfield” or “cornhill” beans to my mix. I also read a hint from Carol Deppe that Withner’s True Cornfield is a superior option, and they did outshine the others for me. The only place I could find Withner’s was Peace Seedlings here in OR. The plants were extremely vigorous, and produced by far the most pods per plant, the most beans per pod, and the largest beans! Wow!
Other varieties in the mix were Cocalico Red Cornhill and Amish Nuttle (from Roughwood Seeds), Cherokee Cornfield (Hardy Seeds via Carl Barnes of Oklahom) and Northern Pintos. They all did decently, I think perhaps the Cherokee Cornfield also stood out as something special. Still need to do some taste testing!
I had a naturally occurring hybrid bean go feral in my field. They found a home within the corn. They grow delicate, not like an aggressive pole bean—more wispy. So they don’t tear down the cornstalks with a lot of biomass.
I never expected beans to volunteer! The trait seems more valuable to me than their corn-friendliness. They grow in other places in the field also, and I allow them, because they coexist lightly with the garden.
I would love to have a bean go feral around my corn patch! I haven’t had such luck yet. I think it might have to do with my falls being so wet and any beans laying about just sprout then, rather than waiting till spring.
Just efficient use of space was reason enough for me to try. It took a few tries to get it right, but I eventually found good varieties that don’t overpower the corn. I trialed a number of varieties from GRIN that had corn in the name or were mentioned as being grown in that way traditionally. This year I’m attempting crosses with the best few.
The '24 GTS maximum diversity mix had a lot of pole types that got along well with my corn also. And last years replanting was even better! I had more than enough beans to eat and contribute this year.
I plant my first corn a week before may to the first or second week, and beans after the corn is 5 to 12 inches high depending on how quickly they’re growing. I plant them into the side of the hilled rows and pat them down so they make good contact.
