Garden

[PA Mom-mom]

How are your green beans doing this year? Mine started out great, but the last few weeks they have not really produced much at all. I get lots of blossoms but few beans. Too many rainstorms? I made two plantings two weeks apart of Blue Lake Bush 47 and the combo green-yellow-purple beans that Burpee offered. The plants look fine, but no beans!

[gizmogal]

Although not required, green beans do better when pollinated by insects, particularly bees. Rain occurring at just the wrong time may have washed out the pollen or prevented bees and other productive insects from getting to your bean blooms.  Orbthe decline in bee populations may be affecting success this year. Here's more insight:

http://www.pollinator.ca/bestpractices/beans.html

I'm certainly understanding your frustration after doing the planting work, seeing the green rise and then getting no harvest. All that work didn't amount to a hill of beans...

[PA Mom-mom]

@gizmogal Thanks for all the information! We have seen more bees lately than in the past few years. But, I never thought about rain at just the time when bees want to be polinating is something I had not thought about.

[janeec]

I live in Eastern PA  and our green beans are bursting.  We have both bush and pole beans, and one seed that was a bush bean but has decided to be a pole bean.  The odd bean plant has been a beetle magnet and yet all the other plants have remained untouched.  The garden is ablooming! I do have to say that my husband is originally from the MIdwest and spent summers on his grandparents' farm.  He is the one in charge of the garden.  I take care of processing/cooking the produce.