My Little Experiment: Green beans in a Pot

Texas Spring

Those who know me know that I grew up on a farm in Arkansas. I grew up surrounded by large trees, large pastures, lots of cows, and a huge garden. Coming to south Texas was–and still is–a large culture shock. I’m not used to the stunted trees (AKA, overgrown bushes) the total lack of topsoil, the borderline-desert environment, and the fact that south Texas is pretty only two months of the year.

Spring, by far, is the prettiest time of year here in south Texas. That’s when it rains down here, and then the grass grows, the leaves green up, the wildflowers bloom and the bluebonnets pop up. Therefore, that makes it the only time of year to plant and grow a garden. Well, I’m sure that you can grow a garden in the summer, but only if you want to spend a few hundred dollars on your watering bill keeping your garden alive.

My Garden

Now, I live in apartment. I have no green space, save whatever I can fit in pots. I do, however, have a small patio, which is the perfect size for flowerpots. I had always told myself that if I ever lived in an apartment, I would grow my green beans in flower pots. Hence I have.

This picture is the result of a little experiment of mine. I wanted to see if I could sprout these plants indoors over the winter/early spring from seed, and then transfer them to the pots. As seen in the picture, the experiment was a success. Out of 8 seeds, 7 sprouted. The plants are doing well, and are even starting to flower. Assuming there are still any bees or other insects still around to pollinate, here in another two weeks or so I should have enough homegrown green beans for a meal or so.

My only regret is that I only decided to do eight plants. If I’d known earlier how well it would do, and how much space I would have left over, I would have bought at least three if not four more pots this size and then had more green beans. Maybe even enough to can a batch. But I had only wanted to use the supplies that I had on hand, so oh well. Live and learn.

Of course, by this time next year I hope to be moved into a real house in the Dallas area, so I’ll be able to put in a real garden, with lots of green beans and other vegetables besides. Dallas, I’ve been told, has more topsoil and more rain. Keeping my fingers crossed!