How to grow green beans

Green Beans are the second most commonly grown vegetables after tomatoes. They are very easy to grow. There are many varieties to choose from. You can grow pole beans or bush beans. Pole usually take longer to grow and you'll need a trellis for them to climb. Check your seed packet for sowing and harvesting times.


You can grow also grow them in containers. 


Green Beans are very prolific and you can continue to harvest them throughout the season. Just make sure you keep picking them in order for them to continue producing. You can also do succession plantings for a continuous harvest.  


Planting


After all danger of frost is gone, plant seeds 1 1/2 inches deep 3-4 inches apart in 24" rows.
Green Beans are not cold tolerant and need warm soil of 65 degrees or better. They grow best in full sun with well watered soil.


Harvesting


There are several factors to consider when harvesting green beans. You'll get the best flavor and texture if you pick you beans at the right time.
You should usually try and harvest your beans when the plants are dry. Let the morning dew evaporate before harvesting.

The bean pods do not need to reach a certain length before harvesting them.

How to grow carrots

Carrots can be sown outside in soil from around the middle of March until the end of June or July. Carrots will  germinate in 2 to 3 weeks and take between 2 to 4 months to mature fully, depending on the variety chosen. Check your seed packet for information on growing length of times and preferred sowing times.

Carrots need full sun. Chose a sunny spot to plant them in. 

Carrots love loose, loamy and sandy soil. So, before sowing the carrots, ensure the ground has been well dug over and is free of weeds and stones. If the ground is a bit hard or you have heavy clay soil, dig in some sand or peat into the soil to lighten the soil up, but not fresh compost or manure. In fact, carrots should not be grown on a patch which has been manured during the previous year.

It helps to use row markers and some twine to mark out the line along which you will grow your carrots.

Carrot seeds are very small and it's easy to sow to many. One way to avoid this is to mix the seeds with sand before sowing. Another tip is to mix the seed with radishes. The radishes will grow first and when you harvest the radishes this helps to thin the carrot seedlings. 

Sprinkle the seeds along the line about every 1 1/2 to 2 inches. And the make the rows 6-8 inches apart. (Once the seedlings are large enough to handle the can be thinned out.)

Cover the seeds with about a 1/2 inch of soil. Do not plant them too deeply. Planting them too deep will prevent them from growing. 

Water them generously. Keep the carrots well watered during dry hot weather.

Very gently cover the seeds with a tiny bit of soil. The seeds barely need 1/2 inch of soil above them to germinate, and the most frequent reason for a crop to fail to emerge is the seeds being planted too deeply.

Water generously.

When the time comes to harvest the carrots, use a garden fork to loosen the ground around the carrots before pulling. 

Carrots can also be grown in containers.








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