# can you grow beans between corn rows sucessfully?



## Faithful One (Mar 22, 2008)

Anyone ever tried growing beans between the corn rows? How does this compare with just planting beans and the corn in their own spacious rows? Is the production of green beans the same?


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

some folks use pole beans and let them grow up the corn stalks. you may have tie after the corn is finished for a fall crop of bush beans.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

I dont' like the thought of harvesting the beans while leaning and picking through the prickly corn plants. I plant for each of care of each crop and ease of harvest. It might save space to plant them together, but I don't lack space. I plant everything separately.


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

Planting beans amongst the corn will actually help the ground. the beans will put some nitrogen back into the soil. Corn robs all the nitrogen out. The beans also keep the soil more, um...aerated. After frost, the bean vines are easily tilled into the soil. or just layed down on it if you're mulching/lasagne type gardening.


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## Faithful One (Mar 22, 2008)

How about the non vine green beans like blue lake?


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## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

How much sun do they need? I've always planted gb's in full sun.

Despite my husband's protests, I'll be experimenting with the outer edges of the corn patch, running pole beans up the stalks. Can't wait to see what happens. Too bad the outer row is so patchy. :-(


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Faithful One said:


> How about the non vine green beans like blue lake?


No, bush beans would not work between corn rows. Only pole beans may be used so that they can grow up to the sun rather than being shaded. Even then, the beans should be planted shortly after the corn begins growing so that the early leaves can have access to direct sunlight.

Martin


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

pickapeppa said:


> How much sun do they need? I've always planted gb's in full sun.
> 
> Despite my husband's protests, I'll be experimenting with the outer edges of the corn patch, running pole beans up the stalks. Can't wait to see what happens. Too bad the outer row is so patchy. :-(



i have a patchy stand of corn this year too. i blame it on the voles and their tunneling allowing the roots to dry...dadgummit! i figure it would be a good year to plant squash and pumpkins in the corn patch.


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## EDDIE BUCK (Jul 17, 2005)

If you have an outside corn row that receives sun most of the day, I have had good success planting bush greenbeans between the corn hills on that row. My FIL use to plant running fieldpeas in the corn middles. Eddie


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

EDDIE BUCK said:


> If you have an outside corn row that receives sun most of the day, I have had good success planting bush greenbeans between the corn hills on that row. My FIL use to plant running fieldpeas in the corn middles. Eddie


Obviously a good gardener/farmer! Field peas are one the very best plants (right up there with alfalfa) at fixing nitrogen in the soil 

sorry.  I get pretty excited these days over folks that use plants to replenish nitrogen. Our top pasture used to be a corn field. The soil tests came back as having NO/0/zip/nada nitrogen  Added to the fact that it's a medium clay type and I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle. oh well. more compost.


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## goatsareus (Jun 23, 2007)

i tried pole beans one time and it was a pain in the butt....very difficult to wrestle the corn ear off the stalk that was tightly wrapped by a pole bean plant.

I recommend planting beans and corn seperately.


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## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

As has been mentioned, the beans are good for fixing nitrogen into soil that desperately needs it due to the hungry corn plants growing there.

Most beans do like full sun, so you should plant a variety that does well in a cornfield. Examples:
Genuine Cornfield
Turkey Craw
Ruth Bible
Hidatsa Shield Figure
Those first three are snap (green) beans, the last is a dry bean.

It IS a pain pulling the corn off the stalk with a bean vine tightly encircling it. You can plant a dent corn so that the corn is harvested after the beans. Good choices are Bloody Butcher and Hickory King. Dent corns can be ground into corn meal, used as feed for chickens, and many varieties can be harvested when "green" and roasted.

If you opt to grow beans up sweet corn stalks, be sure to have a VERY large, sturdy sweet corn variety. Stowell's Evergreen and Country Gentleman are good, but not as good as a dent corn.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Wisconsin Ann said:


> Obviously a good gardener/farmer! Field peas are one the very best plants (right up there with alfalfa) at fixing nitrogen in the soil


BUT, I believe that the field peas have to die before the nitrogen is released for the corn to use. A gardening friend tells me that his parents alternate between corn and cowpeas every year in his home country of Tanzania. The crops are usually quite good despite lack of fertilizers. I asked him about growing them together and it is not done despite the cowpea variety being able to climb. (They are cut off at about 2' tall to force them to grow as a bush.) I would suspect that heavy planting of both corn and cowpeas would tax the nutrient supply too much with little to carry over to the next season.

Martin


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## EDDIE BUCK (Jul 17, 2005)

I normally put up corn the week of july 4. I always plant cowpeas as soon as the corn is out and pick them 1st or 2nd week in october then broadcast rye grass and cut in. I don't usually put corn back there the next year ,but the year after. Eddie


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