Pole Beans

As the second crop of bush beans wanes, the pole beans are starting to produce. One heirloom variety we grow is scarlet runner beans. They have beautiful red flowers that attract humming birds and bees. Ken plants flowers for bees and we try to have continuous bloom for them.

Bees pollinate several crops - peas, beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash and melons for example. The biodynamic planting calendar divides vegetables into three basic groups - leaf like lettuce or kale, roots like carrots or beets, and fruit like squash and beans. The vegetables in the fruit category need pollinators. We are fortunate to have all the honey bees and wild bees that we have. A farmer friend and his staff are using paint brushes to pollinate crops this season - no bees.

This year the purple coneflowers and scarlet runner beans are next to each other. What a beautiful color combination!