Beans: is it a vegetable or not, types and descriptions of varieties with photos

The bean plant is included in the list of vegetables, the benefits of which can hardly be overestimated. The protein composition of the culture approaches the proteins of fish and meat. The vegetable is perfectly absorbed by the body. In addition to nutritional potential, it has a powerful therapeutic effect used in folk and official medicine. An unpretentious plant occupies a worthy place in household plots and fields of agricultural enterprises.

Features of beans

This vegetable first appeared in South America and has spread around the world, adapting to the climatic conditions of a particular country. Describing the common bean, it is impossible not to mention that this plant belongs to legumes.This family includes a large number of varieties and varieties, which makes it possible to compile only an approximate, generalized portrait of the culture.

The stem is a herbaceous, erect or winding trunk, the lower part of which eventually becomes stiff and turns into a taproot, branching root. Paired, trifoliate leaves. Elongated racemes are covered with moth flowers, the color of which depends on the type of bean.

Long hanging fruits are straight and curved and hide 2-8 elliptical seeds behind the valves.

Types and varieties

About a hundred types of beans are known, which are divided into groups:

Shelling (grain). Only grains are edible. It is grown as a table and fodder crop. It is important to wait for the seeds to ripen.
Asparagus (sugar). High in vitamins and proteins. Does not have a parchment layer and hard fibers. Not only beans are used for food, but also the whole pod. It is allowed to use fresh, as part of salads and vegetable dishes. It is important not to be late with the harvest.
Semi-sugar. Coarse fibers must be removed before use.
White. Features of cooking: take a moderate amount of water and do not mix the beans. A small amount of protein and a large part of iron makes this product indispensable for overweight people and the elderly.
Red (curly). With thick curved pods and red colored beans. Indispensable for cooking first courses, suitable for side dishes and salads. The rich content of vitamins and fiber has a positive effect on the nervous and immune systems, improves skin condition.
Black. It is distinguished by its black color, silky surface of the beans and a smoky flavor with a sweetish undertone. Good in soups, salads, desserts and pastries.
Pod. Juicy, fleshy green pods with tender seeds are eaten whole. The presence of fiber and complex carbohydrates leads to the inclusion of beans in the diet.
Decorative. It is used for landscape design - as if created for this. The color of the flowers of the bean matches the color of the fruit. Bean leaves form the shading of pavilions and terraces.

Division of varieties by maturity:

early ripe;
medium-early;
medium;
mid-season;
late.

Appearance serves as another sign of qualification:

bush;
curly;
semi curly.

Common varieties of vegetable beans that are popular with summer residents and gardeners:

Purple Queen. Average maturity. Almost black fruits reach 15 cm. Resistant to viral diseases and drought.
Melody. Early curly variety with 13 cm flat pods.
Crane. Low-growing leguminous variety with tender fruits suitable for freezing and preservation.
Oil King. High yield and exquisite taste.
Hell Rem. Curly look. Distinguished by pink grains with the taste of mushrooms.
Yubileynaya 287. Low growing early variety with immunity to common diseases.
Dokuchaevskaya. Bushy, drought-resistant, not subject to shedding. Has excellent taste.
Generous. Early ripe, large-fruited. Suitable for preservation.

Familiarizing yourself with the types and characteristics of beans, it is easy to choose the variety that suits you.

Growing beans

Following the recommendations for growing a crop, you can get a storehouse of trace elements, vitamins and minerals without leaving the boundaries of your site.

Seed preparation

Before sowing seeds, they need to be sorted out, removing sluggish, empty, damaged ones. The weight of the beans is determined by soaking in s alted water - unsuitable specimens will float to the surface. It is recommended to keep the seed material for 6 hours in warm water, 20 minutes in a manganese solution and 2 hours in a wood ash solution. Then the beans are washed, slightly ventilated and only then planted in moist soil. It is not prohibited to treat with fungicides immediately before planting or short-term placement in a solution of boric acid + ammonium in order to prevent the appearance of nodule weevil.

Date of planting

Sowing beans is carried out in soil warmed up to 12 degrees, to a depth of 10 cm. The air temperature should not fall below +15 degrees during the day, and the threat of night frosts has passed. Heat-loving climbing varieties are planted a week later than bush varieties. The exact date is determined by the climatic conditions of the region.

Environmental requirements

Vegetable plant grows successfully when organizing artificial shortening of lighting by covering the ridges with an opaque material. Due to the short daylight hours (up to 12 hours), fruiting occurs more quickly, and the yield increases. These recommendations are important to follow at the beginning of the growing season.

Many modern varieties of domestic breeding are neutral to the length of daylight hours.

Bean predecessors

Beans should be planted after cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, cabbage or tomatoes and not returned to the same place earlier than three years later. The neighborhood of culture with potatoes, beets, carrots, onions, cabbage will be good. But the richest harvest is obtained when developing next to cucumbers. In no case should beans be planted near legumes, this attracts the pea codling moth, which can destroy plantings.

Soil preparation

Vegetable responds to competent soil preparation, which includes:

choosing a dry place;
autumn digging of the site;
applying a moderate amount of organic fertilizer;
liming acidic soils;
loosening the earth by adding sand;
sprinkling ridges with wood ash;
spring harrowing.

Despite its unpretentiousness, the culture languishes in the shade and on marshy soils.

Sowing beans

Bean seeds are laid out in furrows at a distance of 20-25 cm, at a depth of 3-5 cm. The interval between rows depends on the variety: 30-60 cm. 15 cm from the plant. These varieties are often used to compact other legume-compatible vegetables or planted along a fence. Mixed plantings benefit the plants, as the beans enrich the soil with nitrogen.

To get an early harvest, you need to grow plants in seedlings. Seedlings are planted on ridges at the end of April in the phase of two leaves and covered with plastic wrap.

Don't sow beans in unheated soil, the seeds will rot at the development stage.

Care

Agricultural activities include weeding, loosening, watering, fertilizing, if required - thinning and pruning. Determinant bushes need the least attention. Curly and semi-curly varieties are responsive to regular top dressing.

Bean watering dates

A moisture-loving plant should not suffer from a lack of water, especially during the formation of pods. Watering is carried out once a week, the main thing is not to allow the soil to dry out. It is recommended to use warm, settled water.

Features of fertilizer

During the growing season, beans are fed three times:

When a pair of leaves appear, fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium are applied at the rate of 20 g per square meter.
At the very beginning of flowering, plants need an additive in the form of potassium chloride: 15-20 g per square meter or a glass of wood ash.
Phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are again applied during the maturation of the blades.

Excessive fertilizer leads to the growth of leaves and a decrease in the number of ovaries.

Bean garter

Climbing beans need to be fixed on a trellis or a grid with large cells. You can stretch a wire or twine between the supports. Sometimes a nest planting method is used, planting beans around a stake with pieces of twine going in all directions, along which the stems rise.

Diseases and pests

Beans are susceptible to diseases caused by viruses, bacteria and fungi. Downy mildew, anthracnose, legume mosaic, white rot can cause the greatest damage. In order to prevent diseases, the use of copper-containing preparations is effective. Of insect pests, the culture is most often affected by slugs, which should be destroyed, weeds removed, and the soil moistened.

Locust, sprout fly, whitefly, aphids are dangerous. Chemical and biological agents will serve as protection for plants. It helps to attract beneficial (predatory) insects to the site, such as a rider, gall midge, ladybug, lacewing. The development of diseases is prevented by the neutralization of acidic soils, the processing of seed material, compliance with crop rotation, and the burning of plant residues.

Harvest and storage of crops

Young fruits are suitable for fresh consumption 14 days after flowering.The pods are cut with scissors in the morning. Storage is possible in canned or frozen form. When a crop is grown for the purpose of obtaining grain, you need to wait for the fruits to dry, cut the stems, tie them in bunches and hang them to ripen the seeds. Husked beans are placed in glass jars and sealed. Specimens selected as seed material are stored in a refrigerator.

For conservation, the product is used boiled, soaked overnight in warm water before cooking. The next steps depend on the chosen recipe.

String beans are frozen as follows:

washed pods are laid out on paper towels to get rid of excess moisture;
pods randomly cut;
distributed into packages;
fit in the freezer.

It is recommended to blanch the beans in order to preserve their green color.

Beans are a hearty and he althy product, suitable for preparing a side dish and being part of various dishes. The unpretentiousness of this vegetable crop makes it possible to obtain a rich harvest even for an inexperienced gardener.