Pole beans

Pole beans: plant 15 cm (6 in) apart in the row and 90 cm (35 in) between rows, 8 per square. Good neighbours: Summer savory, Winter savory, Cucumber.

Key facts

Spacing in the row	15 cm (6 in)
Between rows	90 cm (35 in)
In a 30 cm (1 ft) square	8 per square
Sun	Full sun, 6–8 hours a day
Root depth	25 cm (10 in)
Height when grown	200 cm (79 in)
Crop rotation group	Legumes
Support	Climbs: give it a trellis or teepee

Sowing and germination

How it is started	Sown straight into the bed
Seeds per hole	2
Plants kept after thinning	1
Seeds per metre of row	13
Sowing depth	2.5 cm (1 in)
Soil temperature	from 16 °C, best 24–29 °C
Days to emerge	6–11 days
Light while germinating	Light makes no difference
Before sowing	nothing needed
When to sow	Outdoors after the last frost; soil at least 16 °C

From seedling to plant

Pricking out	sown where it grows
Takes transplanting	Badly, sow where it grows
Life cycle	Annual
Cold tolerance	Tender, hurt by frost
Soil	Ordinary garden soil, free draining, pH 5.8–7
In a pot	12 L, 30 cm (11.8 in)
Watering	Water when the soil is dry two fingers down; at flowering, while pods fill
Feeding	Little; at planting
Support and training	A teepee of poles; tie in as it grows

Harvest and planning

Days to first harvest	60–75 days, from sowing
Ready when	The pods snap and the seeds barely show
Harvest window	Picked again and again, 6–10 weeks
Sow again every	14 days
Typical yield	3–5 kg per m²
Botanical family	Fabaceae
Watch out for	Blackfly, slugs and snails

Good neighbours

◐ good with a condition · Why, with the sources →

Plan Pole beans in your garden

Open the free planner, drop Pole beans onto a bed and see how many plants fit.

Start Planning Your Garden

Sowing and harvest

Sow outdoors	May–Jun
Harvest	Jul–Oct

My dates for this crop

My country Last spring frost where I live

Give the date once and this page, the sowing calendar and the planner all follow it.

Months for a temperate climate: about a month later in the north and a month earlier in the south. Give your own last frost date for exact dates.

What to plant next to Pole beans →

From the same family

Plants of the Fabaceae family share diseases and pests, so they follow each other in the rotation only after a break.

Sources

The values on this page marked as checked come from these sources: spacing, sowing depth, germination, soil, timing and safety notes, each against the source named here.

Beans (426-402) — Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech for: soil, between rows, spacing in the row; checked 2026-10-30
Grow crisp, flavorful beans in your home garden — Oregon State University Extension for: sowing depth, when to sow; checked 2026-10-30
Soil Temperature Conditions for Vegetable Seed Germination (GN 154, after J.F. Harrington, UC Davis) — UC Cooperative Extension, UC ANR for: days to emerge, soil temperature; checked 2026-10-30
Beans: planting — UC Statewide IPM Program for: sowing depth; checked 2026-10-30

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