Growing plants from the store may seem like a daunting task, but with a little bit of care and attention, it can be a fun and rewarding experience.
One type of plant that is relatively easy to grow from store-bought beans is the kidney bean.
Here are a few tips on how to successfully grow kidney beans from the store.
Choose organic kidney beans that have not been subjected to any kind of chemical treatment. This will give you the best chance of success in germinating and growing the beans. You’ll need to soak the beans in water for a day before planting in a well drained compost.
How to grow kidney beans from the store
It is important to use kidney beans that have not been treated with any chemicals.
Beans that have been treated are unlikely to germinate and grow.
The best way to determine this is to purchase organic kidney beans from the store.
Soak your beans overnight
The first step is to soak your beans overnight.
This will help them to germinate more quickly.
Place your beans in a bowl or pot and cover them with water.
Make sure that the water is about twice as deep as the beans are tall. Let them soak for at least 12 hours, or preferably 24 hours.
Plant your beans in fertile soil
Beans are not demanding plants, but they do need some basic things to thrive.
They need full sun and well-drained, fertile soil. amended with compost or manure.
One of the best ways to start your beans is by sowing the seeds into pots of compost which can then be transplanted into the garden when they are big enough.
Keep the pots well watered and in around a week you should begin to see signs of growth.
When the shoots emerge move the pots into a well lit spot so that the young plants can develop strong stems.
Transplanting your beans
Once the plants are around 10cm (4 inches) tall they can be transplanted into the garden.
Choose a sunny spot in your garden that has well-drained soil.
Dig a hole that is twice as wide as the pot the plant is growing in and deep enough so that the top of the root ball is level with the soil surface.
Carefully remove the plant from its pot taking care not to damage the roots and place it into the hole.
Fill in around the plant with soil and water well.
Keep them watered and feed regularly
Don’t let your plants dry out, water them regularly and, when they begin to flower, feed them with an all purpose fertiliser – tomato plant fertiliser is a good choice and a weekly feed will be enough.
You can pollinate the flowers by transferring pollen from the male parts of the flower to the female using a small paintbrush but, in most places, insect activity will be enough for this to occur.
The flowers will develop into beans which can be harvested around 10-12 weeks after planting.
Try not to let the plants get too big before harvesting as this can affect the quality of the beans.
Pick the beans when they are around 10-12 weeks old.
When the beans are ready they will be a dark green colour and will be slightly soft to the touch.
To harvest them, simply twist the stem until it snaps and then pull the bean from the plant.
You can eat them fresh or cook them in a variety of different dishes.
Final words
With a little bit of care and attention, anyone can successfully grow kidney beans from the store.
Just be sure to select organic beans, soak them overnight, and then plant them in fresh soil in a sunny spot.
Water regularly and fertilize every few weeks, and you’ll have a great harvest in no time.
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