Question
I have always grown bush beans, but wanted to try growing pole beans this year. My husband built some trellis's and the plants are going crazy and have grown up to 4 ft plus, but no blossoms anywhere. We planted two rows about 5 ft long. What did we do wrong?

Answer
Tracy, you've done nothing wrong. Pole beans take several weeks longer to start producing than bush beans. You then can harvest continually until your first frost.

Personally, I stopped growing vining beans several years ago. I find that bush beans, if planted every three weeks, produce far more beans than pole plants. Vining plants often succomb to disease and insects by the end of August. Since bush beans produce their entire crop at once, it is easier to harvest and then just pull the plants.

Keep in mind that this is my personal preference based on my own experience. Like everything in life, this perception will vary from gardener to gardener.

In summary, be patient and I'm sure the vines will start producing shortly. Here in Ohio, my first blooms usually started in early August. Just be sure to not overfertilize, especially with a fertilizer high in nitrogen. These products tend to promote lush foliage at the expense of blossoming. Instead, purchase a fertilizer higher in phosphorus. A good ratio is 10-20-10.

I hope this answered your question. Please write again if I can ever be of assistance.

Regards,

Mike