Bush beans are easy to grow, either for backyard gardening or for large-scale farming. The reason for the recent development of the bush bean is to make plants not overly reliant on artificial support or assistance. The advantage of growing bush beans is not needing poles for support. Also, it can have all of its pods develop simultaneously, unlike pole beans which develop gradually, making the bush bean the practical choice when it comes to commercial production. There are a lot of bush bean varieties for snap beans, green shelling beans, and dry shell beans, and other types of beans that you can plant.
Bush Bean Trivia
- Beans absorb odors. When transporting harvested beans, make sure the items near it cannot affect the quality of the beans. For example, something that emits ethylene gas (which the bean will absorb) will hasten bean maturity.
- Wisconsin is considered the cheese state but it is also a major producer of snap green beans in the US!
- Blairsville, Georgia celebrates the annual Green Bean Festival on the last Saturday of July.
- Beans have inspired some English expressions, like “spill the beans” and “full of beans”
- Chisato Tanaka of Japan holds the Guinness record for most baked beans eaten with chopsticks in one minute. Tanaka ate 72.
Bush Bean Buying Guide
The beans produced by pole varieties do not have any distinct unique qualities that set them apart from bush beans, so there is no way of knowing if the beans we are buying in groceries or supermarkets are from a bush bean variety or a pole variety. It is inconsequential anyway since the beans possess the same qualities regardless of whether they were from a bush type or a pole type plant.
You can buy raw or dry beans. You can also buy canned beans. If you are stocking up and rarely have time for cooking, go for canned beans. If you have time to cook and visit the grocery or supermarket, go for fresh or dry beans. Always check for signs of discoloration, bruises, or damage on the beans. Buy enough for what you plan to cook later unless you have food containers at home you can use to store uncooked dry beans.
Bush Bean Production & Farming in Texas
Beans are a summer crop. They do well in warm weather. Beans reach maturity in 55 to 60 days, and beans change color when they mature. In Texas, the most common types of beans grown include green snap beans, lima beans, and other horticultural types of beans.
Plant bush beans once the danger of frost has passed. Make sure to plant bush beans where there is full sun. Make sure the soil is well-drained with a pH of 6.0 to 6.8. Water during the day to give the leaves enough time to dry. Bush bean plants need two to three inches of water each week. Plant seeds by hand or with a garden seeder, one to two inches deep and two to three inches apart. In humid climates, bush bean plants should be spaced farther apart for better airflow. Bacterial or wilt diseases are a problem for bush beans, as well as bean mosaic, anthracnose, bean blight, bean rust, white mold, and gray mold.
Pesticides:
Bush beans are attacked by pests like grasshoppers, aphids, Mexican beetles, stink bugs, and spider mites.
- Grasshopper – Use carbaryl dust. Neem oil is also an option.
- Spider mites – To get rid of spider mites, use neem oil and apply it through foliar spraying. It contains azadirachtin which is effective against spider mites. You can also use horticultural oil (which also targets aphids and thrips). Pests die after exposure to horticultural oil due to suffocation since the oil blocks the spiracles through which insects breathe. Another effect of horticultural oils is disrupting the metabolism of insect eggs. Lastly, horticultural oils disrupt the insect’s ability to feed. As a result, the insect starves to death. Using pyrethrin spray is also an effective method against spider mites. Another option is spinosad, a mixture of two chemicals called spinosyn A and spinosyn D typically used to control a wide variety of pests.
- Aphids – Kill aphids using neem oil, insecticidal soap, or horticultural oil. You can also use the pesticide malathion, which is the most commonly used organophosphate insecticide in the United States, or rotenone, a selective, non-specific insecticide typically used in home gardens for insect control.
- Stink bugs – Use alpine insecticide.
- Mexican bean beetle – Use Kaolin clay, Beauveria bassiana, and/or botanical insecticides.
Geography:
There is no data available regarding how much beans from the bush variety are produced globally and which countries produce the most. However, the list of top producers of beans worldwide is a testament to the high demand for beans in different parts of the world and how beans can be grown in different environments. India is the top producer of pulses (dried seeds of legume plants), followed by Canada. Two Asian countries – Myanmar and China – complete the top five along with African country Nigeria. Russia, Ethiopia, Brazil, Australia, the US, Niger, and Tanzania are also among the top producers of beans. In the dry beans category, the top producers are as follows: Myanmar, India, Brazil, China, Mexico, Tanzania, the US, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda.
Packaging:
Beans from bush beans are packaged just like other beans. They are sold in cans if the beans are preserved in saltwater or what others call aquafaba (liquid inside canned chickpeas), or plastic packs for dry beans. Plastic packaging varies. You can buy beans in vacuum-sealed plastic. Others use resealable plastic packaging. It is also common to find dry beans sold in small quantities in Mylar bags or resealable aluminum foil pouch.
Enjoying Bush Beans
Eating beans from a bush bean plant is generally healthy for you. You eat bush variety beans the same way you eat pole-variety beans. For example, you can eat bush variety snap peas as a snack or as a side dish, while you can eat yellow wax beans raw. Eat bush variety wax beans with poached lobster, tuna, or roasted pork belly, or with potatoes, shallots, and other herbs – Italian parsley, chervil, and tarragon are ideal. The flavor stands out in a dish, which is typical of wax beans may they be bush or pole variety.
Bush or pole variety, there is the danger of toxins found in many beans. The lectin phytohaemagglutinin is present in beans like the red kidney beans. This is a harmful, tasteless toxin, but it can be removed by boiling the raw beans for at least 10 minutes or longer. There is also the aspect of “antinutrients” from eating beans, which inhibit some enzyme processes in the body. An example of this is phytic acid and other phytates which hinder the metabolism of vitamin D and thus inhibiting the important process of bone growth.
Storage:
For dry beans, make sure you transfer them to a food-safe container with a tight-sealing lid. Put the container in a cool, dry place. Avoid areas where the container is exposed to direct sunlight.
Canned bean products are safe at room temperature as long as they are not exposed to direct sunlight.
Cooking:
There are a lot of ways to cook beans from a bush bean plant. For example, you can cook the bush variety of snap peas by steaming, blanching in boiling water, or stir fry. Use it when cooking soups or noodles or when pasta dishes too! It goes well with fresh mushrooms or water chestnuts. For bush variety wax beans, you can steam them, roast them, boil them, sauté them in butter, or blanch them. Use bush variety wax beans as a substitute for French beans when cooking. There are a lot of other different ways to cook bush variety beans.
Nutritional Benefits:
The nutritional benefit you get from a bush bean plant depends on what type of bean you are eating, although generally, beans provide the body with protein, complex carbohydrates, folate, iron, and soluble fiber.
