FREE: Purple hyacinth bean vine

The listing, Purple hyacinth bean vine has ended.

The Purple Hyacinth Bean Vine is very easy to grow. These plants grow best in full sun. Bean vines prefer a rich, well-draining soil to fuel their fast, season long growth. You can mix a healthy dose of compost into the soil prior to planting the seeds. Bean vines like a lot of water and nutrients. However, while they like lots of water, they do not like "wet" soil. Keep your soil moist, but not wet. Add fertilizer when planting seeds and once a month during the growing season. I use a high phosphorous formula just before the first blooming period.

Bean vines will begin to bloom in summer (around June in zone 7), and continue to do so into the fall. After the flowers bloom, purple bean pods will begin to form. These beans can grow up to three or four inches. The raw beans inside are a bright purple color and are poisonous if eaten, so keep these away from children and pets. Boiling the beans for a long period of time, cooks out the poison, and makes beans edible.

Bean vines are annuals that are very susceptible to frost. The plants may still be in bloom when your first frost arrives.

Hyacinth bean vines are very good "re-seeders". If the pods are allowed to open and pour out their beans, you will find many new plants next year. Do not disturb the soil until seedlings have begun to grow. Thinning will almost certainly be needed, or you can cultivate the seeds manually by picking the dried bean pods (which are black in color with a white top). Store these in a dry, air-tight container until the following spring.