When to Plant Green Beans in Oklahoma for a Bountiful Harvest

Families in Oklahoma can grow tasty, high-quality vegetables in their own gardens from spring to fall, as well as vegetables that can be processed or stored for the winter.

The money spent on seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, and a few tools is more than made up for by the fun, healthy exercise, and delicious food grown in your own yard.

The selection and preparation of the garden site is an important key to growing a home garden successfully. An area exposed to full or near full sunlight with deep, well-drained, fertile soil is ideal. It’s also a good idea to put the garden somewhere near water and, if possible, away from trees and bushes that would take away its light, water, and nutrients.

Even though these conditions are perfect, many urban gardeners only have a small space that isn’t the best place to grow lettuce. But you can still grow a vegetable garden if you change some cultural practices and the kinds of plants you grow. One or two hours of direct sunlight a day is enough for this plant to grow. It can be used in bright, airy places with light shade, like under young trees or older trees with high, lacy canopies. When the weather is like this, many vegetables can grow, such as turnips, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, kohlrabi, leaf lettuce, peas, potatoes, radishes, rhubarb, spinach, and turnips. Size and form of harvestable plant parts will be reduced depending on amount of light reaching plants. Fruiting vegetables may benefit from afternoon shade during hot periods in the summer.

If the ground doesn’t drain well or the topsoil is thin or has too much sand or clay, gardening in raised beds or containers might be better. If you have a raised bed garden, you should use good garden soil. For container gardens, you should use growing media that doesn’t contain soil.

The chart on page 2 should be of help in determining family requirements of the different vegetables.

Perennial vegetables (asparagus, rhubarb, winter onions, etc. ) should be planted at one side or end of the garden for efficient operation. When you plant hardy vegetables early in the season, you should do so together so that you can plant more of the same or other vegetables later in the season. Vegetables requiring similar cultural practices should be grouped together for ease of care.

Perennial vegetables (asparagus, rhubarb, winter onions, etc. ) should be planted at one side or end of the garden for efficient operation. When you plant hardy vegetables early in the season, you should do so together so that you can plant more of the same or other vegetables later in the season. Vegetables requiring similar cultural practices should be grouped together for ease of care.

The recommended spacings are based on best practices in the traditional row method of gardening. Smaller spacings can be used in alternative gardening methods such as container or square-foot gardening. In these situations, compact varieties of plants such as tomato and eggplant are a good choice.

The chart groups vegetables as cool season or warm season crops, indicating under which conditions they grow best. It is possible to plant cool-season crops earlier in the season, and they do best when it is cool (average daily temperatures of 70 F or less). On the other hand, warm-season crops do better when it is warm (average daily temperatures between 70 F and 90 F).

Based on the temperature the plants will withstand, vegetables are hardy, semi-hardy, tender or very tender. You can plant hardy types before the last frost or freeze in the spring, and they can handle cold weather in late fall. Some plants can’t handle a hard frost, but they can grow in cool weather and won’t be hurt by a light frost. Some plants can handle a light frost, but others can’t. On the other hand, cool weather hurts very tender plants.

Different parts of Oklahoma have different planting dates. The earliest dates are for southeast Oklahoma, and the latest dates are for northwest Oklahoma. Planting dates also may vary when season extension techniques are used.

In order to have a successful garden, the gardener must follow a few guidelines. These tips might help keep some common garden issues from happening or make it easier to deal with they do:

Avoid the Following Mistakes:

• When you plant too close together, you can’t walk or work in the garden. This can make diseases more likely and stop plants from growing normally.
• Putting fertilizer right on the roots, stems, or seeds of a plant
• Cultivating deeply, resulting in injury to plant roots.
• Planting varieties that aren’t right for your area or the time of year; however, do try brand-new varieties.
• Too much or too frequent watering that keeps the soil wet and squishy
• Allowing weeds to grow large before elimination.
• Putting down home remedies, fertilizers, or pesticides without thinking about it or reading and following the directions on the package (Remember, these materials are being applied to your family’s food!).
• Using chemicals not specifically recommended for garden crops.
• Storing leftover diluted spray.

Table 1A. Garden Planning Guide, Cool Season.

Table 1A. Garden Planning Guide, Cool Season. (contd)

These dates indicate planting times from southeast to northwest Oklahoma. Specific climate and weather may influence planting dates. For vegetables that grow in cool weather, the soil should be at least 40°F where the seeds are planted.

Table 1B. Garden Planning Guide, Warm Season.

Table 1B. Garden Planning Guide, Warm Season. (contd)

**These dates indicate planting times from southeast to northwest Oklahoma. Specific climate and weather may influence planting dates. For vegetables that grow in warm weather, the soil should be at least 50°F where the seeds are planted.

Table 2. Common Garden Problems

Planting Warm Season Beans

FAQ

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