Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 12, 1994                   TAG: 9405120141
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-11   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

MORE BEANS FROM YOUR GARDEN

It's bean planting time across Virginia. To mark the occasion, we offer a summary of bean research so you can pick out the new techniques for increased yield that best suit your garden.

Before you plant, make sure your soil has good structure. Compacted soil isn't good for root growth, nor for the growth of beneficial rhizobial bacteria that inhabit bean roots. The bacteria just can't get enough oxygen. Be sure to loosen the soil before planting so the bacteria can flourish, ensuring maximum nitrogen fixation to benefit future crops.

Once seed is sown, consider covering the planting with a row cover. Research has shown that snap beans can be improved by growing under a floating row cover. Emergence, early yield, and total yield were all increased in a study. The greatest improvement in yield was seen in an early-season planting.

Have a tiny garden but want to grow both tomatoes and green beans? You can plant beans between the tomato plants and get the same yield per bean plant as if they were growing in their own row. The tomato yield will be about a third less, but you can get two crops out of one space using this method.

If you would rather break new ground to fit a few more rows of beans into the garden, then consider strip tillage. All you need to cultivate and dig is the actual planting row, leaving your existing turf between row. Smother this grass during the growing season with black plastic mulch or a thick layer of organic mulch, and your bean yields should be similar to what you would have gotten had you dug up the whole plot.

You also will avoid erosion problems and will find the untilled strips pleasant to walk on even right after a rain. Whether you opt for strip tillage or conventional tillage, space your bean rows 18 inches apart for optimum yields.

Watering dry beans may seem a contradiction in terms, but it may actually make sense. Research has shown that drip irrigation of pinto bean plants being grown for dry beans increased yields, up to a point where the water applied is equal to the water lost from the plants through evapotranspiration.

In other words, keep the soil moist, not waterlogged, for best dry bean yield. If you'd rather not water, the same research showed that while yields may be less than optimal, the cooking quality of the bean is not reduced by lack of irrigation.

Joe Hunnings is the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service agent for agriculture in Christiansburg. If you hae questions, call the Montgomery Coun ty extension office at 382-5790.