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My elderly mom loves green beans, so I decided to to make growing green beans in an AeroGarden a priority. In this article, I share the process of growing green beans in an AeroGarden Harvest and Harvest XL.
I decided to experiment with the two different AeroGarden models, because the variety of green beans I chose to grow, grow 12″ – 18″ in height. Since the AeroGarden Harvest has a 12″ grow height, and the Harvest XL (Amazon) has an 18″ grow height, I wasn’t sure what AeroGarden model would work best, so I decided to experiment and grow the green beans in both AeroGarden models.
I chose these “green” beans because they are a beautiful purple color with gorgeous purple flowers.
Pro tip: I have had a hard time finding the same variety of green bean seeds that I used in this article. If you’re looking for a purple bush bean variety that will grow well in an AeroGarden, I recommend Royal Burgandy Bush Beans, that you can get from True Leaf Market or Amazon.
Preparing to Plant Green Bean Seeds in an AeroGarden
I had never attempted to grow green beans in an AeroGarden before, but after getting input from others, I decided to germinate the seeds in a paper towel before planting them in them. The reason for this is that others experienced low germination, and mold when attempting to grow green beans in an AeroGarden without first germinating the seeds.
Germinating Green Bean Seeds in Paper Towels
Here’s the process that I used to germinate the green bean seeds.
Step 1: Place the green beans on a wet paper towel
I started off by using a spray bottle to dampen a paper towel. I got it pretty moist, but not dripping. In the image above you can see that I have the green bean seeds spread out. With them spread out, as the seeds germinate, they won’t get tangled together.
Step 2: Fold the paper towel in half
Next, I folded the paper towel in half so that the green bean seeds were covered. I then lightly misted the outside of the paper towel, just to moisten it a bit more.
Step 3: Place the paper towel in a zippered bag
Place the paper towel with the seeds into a zippered bag. Seal the bag, leaving about a 1/2″ to an inch unsealed. The partially sealed bag keeps in the moisture, and yet provides enough air so that it doesn’t get moldy.
Step 4: Place the seeds on top of an AeroGarden (optional)
Next, I place the zippered bag with seeds on top of one of my AeroGardens. This step is completely optional, but the warmth from the lights can help the seeds to germinate.
This is an easy step for me because I always have multiple AeroGardens running. I wouldn’t plug in an AeroGarden just for this purpose.
To germinate the seeds, you can also use a heat mat such as these that you can pick up on Amazon.
Bean Seed Germination after Two Days
All of the green bean seeds germinated after two days in the paper towels. Some had barely started germinating, and others were doing quite well.
The paper towel was still slightly damp, but was drying out, so I spritzed it with the water bottle. I’ve put the bean seeds back into the zippered bag and will let them grow a bit more before adding them to the AeroGarden.
Placing the Green Bean Seeds in AeroGarden Sponges
The hole in AeroGarden sponges is typically pretty small, and green bean seeds are too large to fit into the holes.
Pro tip: To save money on AeroGarden sponges, check out my article, AeroGarden Grow Sponge Alternatives.
I cut a slit into the side of the AeroGarden sponges to open them up a bit.
I then placed one sprouted green bean seed into each sponge.
Growing Green Beans in an AeroGarden – Day 7
One of the great things about growing green beans anywhere, including in an AeroGarden is that they grow super fast! Here is what the green beans looked like just 7 days after I put them into the AeroGarden!
Now remember that they had been in the paper towel for a couple of days already, so technically this was 9 or 10 days after I started the seeds in the paper towel.
You can see that some of the green bean plants are a bit smaller than the others. These were the ones that, while germinated in the paper towel, were a bit behind the others.
Note that at this point I planted all of them in the AeroGarden Harvest (Amazon), with the plan to move some to the Harvest XL before they got too big. I did this mainly for convenience, since I was in a bit of a hurry when planting these, and it was easier to start just one AeroGarden instead of two.
AeroGarden Green Beans – Day 14
After the first week, since the green beans were growing so fast, I decided to move three out of the five green bean plants from the AeroGarden Harvest to the AeroGarden Harvest XL.
Below are the ones growing in the AeroGarden Harvest.
Here are the ones growing in the AeroGarden Harvest XL.
There are a couple of things to note. The first thing is that the green beans growing in the Harvest are much fuller than the ones growing in the Harvest XL. Note that the ones in the Harvest XL look kind of leggy.
The “leggyness” is probably due to the light being further away in the Harvest XL. From this perspective, the green beans were growing better in the Harvest (Amazon) compared to the Harvest XL.
Problems with Edema
You can see that the leaves don’t look too healthy. They are “puffy” and turning a bit yellow. This is because I was growing them in a very hot climate. Due to high electricity costs here in the California desert, we keep our thermostat at 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer. They weren’t happy at that temperature, but I chose to just wait it out and see if they’d survive.
The photo above is from the green beans growing in the AeroGarden Harvest, but the same problem happened in the Harvest XL as well.
AeroGarden Green Beans – Day 28
By day 28, the green bean plants growing in the AeroGarden Harvest were 11″ tall, and the ones growing in the Harvest XL were 15″ tall. Both had filled out nicely, though the green bean plants in the Harvest were fuller than the ones in the XL. Both plants continued to suffer some from edema, to some degree. I pinched off leaves that died off, and for the most part, the plants bounced back in spite of the heat.
The most exciting aspect of this part of the growth cycle is that purple blooms began to appear all over the plants! So pretty!
AeroGarden Green Beans – Day 30
Just two days after my last update, I noticed the first green beans growing! I was kind of surprised to see that the green beans were. . . green. This variety is supposed to produce purple green beans that turn green when cooking. Since this was my first time growing them, I really didn’t know what to expect.
AeroGarden Green Beans – Day 40
By day 40, both plants were LOADED with green beans! And yes, they had turned from green to purple!
Here are some varieties of bush beans that you can get from True Leaf Market (my favorite place to buy seeds) as well as a recommendation on which AeroGarden to use.
- Provider Bush Beans – Grow in a Harvest XL or Bounty (Amazon)
- Contender Bush Beans – Grow in a Harvest XL (Amazon)
- Tendergreen Bush Beans – Grow in a Harvest XL (Amazon)
- Royal Burgandy Bush Beans – Grow in a Harvest or Harvest XL (Amazon)
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