I recommend planting most pole beans at a rate of 3 seed per hill with 12 to 15 inches between hills. Bush varieties should be planted at 3 to 5 seeds per ft of row. The reason for planting pole beans in hills further apart is so you can easily weed between them. Pole beans are also heavier feeders than bush beans so they have to have more room for roots to spread.

Please do NOT plant lima beans per the above. Most lima beans need a max of 2 or 3 seed in hills with about 24 inches between hills. I have an extremely good crop of Big Mama lima beans growing right now that are planted at a rate of 1 seed every 24 inches. I started them in cell trays so there are no skips in the row.

DarJones

alisande and fusion

I planted my Fortex in a double 8-foot row using cattle panel for the trellis and spaced them at about four inches apart (2 per each panel opening). The vines are so healthy and vigorous this year that they're a tightly-wrapped jungle, so I don't think I'll space them that close next year. I think I'll plant them in double rows with 8" spacing.

It isn't that the plants are being less productive than I think they could be -- I'm harvesting between 3 and 4 quarts of Fortexes every other day, and in my book that's a lot of beans. (If it continues, I'll be begging people to take some of my beans, like you do with overenthusiastic zucchini!) And this may be an unusually good season for beans. But the beans are hard to get to in the middle where so many vines are wrapped around each other. I think they have enough root-room but I, myself, could benefit from more vine room in the picking!

alisande and fusion

I planted my Fortex in a double 8-foot row using cattle panel for the trellis and spaced them at about four inches apart (2 per each panel opening). The vines are so healthy and vigorous this year that they're a tightly-wrapped jungle, so I don't think I'll space them that close next year. I think I'll plant them in double rows with 8" spacing or single rows with 4" spacing.

It isn't that the plants are being less productive than I think they could be -- I'm harvesting between 3 and 4 quarts of Fortexes every other day, and in my book that's a lot of beans. (If it continues, I'll be begging people to take some of my beans, like you do with overenthusiastic zucchini!) And this may be an unusually good season for beans. But the beans are hard to get to in the middle where so many vines are wrapped around each other. I think they have enough root-room but I, myself, could benefit from more vine room in the picking!