How to grow kidney beans in the garden

Key facts at a glance:

• Sowing date: end of May
• Plant spacing: 6 to 8cm
• Location: sunny to partially shaded, sheltered from the wind
• Soil: calcareous, rich in humus, warm
• Care: lightly piling up, watering regularly

When can red beans be grown?

Beans like it warm and should therefore not be sown too early. A good guideline date is the ice saints at the end of May. Since no more frosts are to be expected after this important date in the gardening year, you can sow your sensitive red beans directly outdoors at the end of May or beginning of June.

• Bring kidney beans on the windowsill and plant the plants out at the end of May
• Red beans ins Cold frame Set in early May
• Plant red beans in the raised bed at the beginning of May and protect from frost with mulch

The key data for sowing red beans

Red beans are made with a spacing of 6 to 8 inches

sownso that the plants have enough space. The beans need sun to grow well and a humus-rich, calcareous and warm soil as possible. In addition, the delicate plants break off easily, which is why a sheltered location is to be found. Red beans are French beans and do not need climbing help. To keep them from breaking off, however, you can pile up the young plants.

Pile up the red beans

To give the kidney beans additional support, it is advisable to pile up the young plants. To do this, proceed as follows:

• When the plants are 15cm to 25cm high, carefully loosen the soil around the plant with a hoe
• Use your hands to pile the soil around the stem of the red bean.
• The pile can be up to 5cm high.

Learn more about piling up here.

When is kidney bean harvest time?

Kidney beans have a development time of around three months, which means that if you sown the red beans at the end of May, you can harvest them at the end of August.