Cutting back bean plants

duajones · May 8, 2010

After reading a bit about this I am thinking about trying it in one of my raised beds that I am growing beans in.
Flowering has just about come to a halt.
Just wondering if any here have tried it and also wanted to know how much to cut off.

b54red · May 9, 2010

I've cut back bush beans before with some success. I wait til the main crop has been picked and they are making only a few beans then cut them back so that they are only about 8 inches or so tall and then wait for them to make a second though much smaller crop from the new growth. Make sure to water well for a few days after cutting to reduced the stress and to give them a little balanced fertilizer with some nitrogen because you are trying to grow a lot of foliage fast. I will not be doing it this year because I was late getting my beans planted and once the real hot weather arrives this technique isn't very successful.
The benefit of doing this is that the crop from the new growth after cutting back seems to have that young tender quality more like the early picked ones while the ones that grow off on the older vines seem less crisp. I have found that some of the ones cut back never seem to recover and regrow and the beans are usually smaller and less plentiful. If I had the room the best alternative is to plant a second crop about 3 to 4 weeks after the first so you have a steady supply but alas I don't have the room so that is why I have tried this several times.

duajones · May 9, 2010

I may just replant and see how it goes, but thanks for your reply

Suze · May 9, 2010

Duane, never tried cutting back beans, but I'm finding that staggering the sowing a bit helps me extend the harvest.

I usually devote one raised bed to beans, and have been sowing half of the bed 10-14 days after the first half.

First sowing is done about a week before I normally would, and the second one about a week after - in other words, I split the difference on a conservative date for my area. I lay a moving blanket or two over that first half if I get a cold night that could kill or damage them.

May 8, 2010	#1
duajones Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Corpus Christi,Texas Z9 Posts: 1,996	Cutting back bean plants After reading a bit about this I am thinking about trying it in one of my raised beds that I am growing beans in. Flowering has just about come to a halt. Just wondering if any here have tried it and also wanted to know how much to cut off. __________________ Duane Jones

May 9, 2010	#3
duajones Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Corpus Christi,Texas Z9 Posts: 1,996	I may just replant and see how it goes, but thanks for your reply __________________ Duane Jones

May 9, 2010	#2
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I've cut back bush beans before with some success. I wait til the main crop has been picked and they are making only a few beans then cut them back so that they are only about 8 inches or so tall and then wait for them to make a second though much smaller crop from the new growth. Make sure to water well for a few days after cutting to reduced the stress and to give them a little balanced fertilizer with some nitrogen because you are trying to grow a lot of foliage fast. I will not be doing it this year because I was late getting my beans planted and once the real hot weather arrives this technique isn't very successful. The benefit of doing this is that the crop from the new growth after cutting back seems to have that young tender quality more like the early picked ones while the ones that grow off on the older vines seem less crisp. I have found that some of the ones cut back never seem to recover and regrow and the beans are usually smaller and less plentiful. If I had the room the best alternative is to plant a second crop about 3 to 4 weeks after the first so you have a steady supply but alas I don't have the room so that is why I have tried this several times.

May 9, 2010	#4
Suze Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 3,027	Duane, never tried cutting back beans, but I'm finding that staggering the sowing a bit helps me extend the harvest. I usually devote one raised bed to beans, and have been sowing half of the bed 10-14 days after the first half. First sowing is done about a week before I normally would, and the second one about a week after - in other words, I split the difference on a conservative date for my area. I lay a moving blanket or two over that first half if I get a cold night that could kill or damage them.