Purple Beans

Latin name: Phaseolus vulgaris

🌱 Days to Sprout: 10-14

😋 Plant food: after true leaves 

✂️ Thin to: 2 plants per yCube

🍅 Days to Maturity: 50-75

💡 Gardyn Location: Peripheral

📏 Plant Size: 2 ft

💚 Care Level: Advanced

Just like Green Beans, Purple Beans are native to Central and South America. This particular cultivar is considered an heirloom variety and was first bred in 1957.

The dark purple pods are not only beautiful, but they also taste delicious and are stringless and tender. Their purple color comes from a pigment called anthocyanin, which has antioxidant properties. Cooking degrades the nutrients, causing the color to return to a green.

To preserve their beautiful purple shade and the highest level of nutrients, enjoy Purple Beans raw as a snack or in salads. They can also be used in any recipe that calls for Green Beans. If cooking, you can reduce the color change by soaking the beans in vinegar or lemon juice prior to exposing them to heat.

🌱 Germination: Bean seeds require a well-drained environment, so we recommend germinating them off of your Gardyn using the soak method. To do so, let the yCube sit in water up to the top of its plastic and soak for 5 minutes. Then, place it in a Nursery or tray without adding any more water, and add the lid. If you already have other yCubes or Microgreens germinating with water in your Nursery, keep your soaked Canna yCube separate. You can learn more about the soak method in your app’s Sprout School!

💡 Temperature: Prefers warmer temperatures (70-85°F).

🐝 Pollination: Flowers develop 4-6 weeks after sprouting. When they appear, help the plant with pollination by gently shaking the plant, or by disturbing the inside of blossoms with your finger or a small brush.

🫶 Support: Although this is a compact plant, we recommend using our Trellis and Plant Belts to direct the vine up your Gardyn’s columns and support the plant's fruit.

✂️ Pruning: These beans require minimal pruning. Snip away yellow or brown leaves if they appear. Check the roots monthly and trim any that are brown or extending past the yPod. 

🔎 Plant Health: Aphids and spider mites are common pests, but you can use our prevention tricks to keep them at bay!

🫘 Harvest: Wait to harvest bean pods until they’re about 5 inches long and generally as thick as a pencil. Snip the pods at the stem before they are fully mature and while they are still tender, usually 1-2 weeks after flowering. This variety of bush bean produces most of its fruit at once, but the plant will keep producing if harvested regularly. 

Our Plant Health & Nutrition Team thoroughly tests each variety we offer to bring you the most flavorful and high-quality plants. We regularly rotate our plant portfolio, so please note, availability varies.