Growing your own vegetables and fruits is one of the most refreshing feelings one can have. However, when winter comes and we can quickly feel discouraged by the cold nature of winter. Pretty much nothing grows out in the snow despite some brassicas and others. But let’s not despair just yet because it’s not that bad if we consider the alternatives.
Fortunately for us, we can grow green beans inside with indoor LED grow lights, even on the snowiest days. In this article, let’s learn more about how we can do that without taking on too many hassles.
Growing Green Beans Inside
In other parts of the world, winter is actually a great time for seasonal vegetables to grow because they don’t have snow. And for those of us who absolutely cherish eating fresh veggies, don’t lose hope just yet. We can still grow a good amount of vegetables in winter, if not all. Of course, they need some extra care and a little careful maintenance as well.
The biggest drawback of winter is the lack of sunlight, and that’s a dead giveaway for growing plants in winter. Although you can get some light through the windows, the light is not of high quality because of the inconsistent weather. This is precisely what you need in conjunction with indoor LED grow lights to carry out the indoor growing of vegetables such as green beans.
Why Green Beans In Winter?
Green beans are the ideal vegetables as an efficient source of protein. Apart from that, they also contain a good amount of vitamins A, C, and K. Eating them is delicious. They can grow perfectly in the winter.
Conveniently enough, it perfectly suited green beans for indoor growing. You can plant them in anything from pots to vertical gardening trays. And the most important part is that they don’t even take up a lot of space, making them efficient to grow in apartments.
Like most hydroponic plants, green beans don’t need too many nutrients, and maintenance effort is still low. You don’t even have to fertilize them regularly, and an automated watering system is enough to keep them standing.
Things To Consider
As we’ve already mentioned, it needs a lot less care compared to other plants, but it still needs some specific considerations. Let’s talk a bit more about it further.
Light Source
Everything needs light to grow. Green beans need a consistent amount of light, roughly 7-8 hours a day. Now you can plant them beside your brightest windows.
We also mentioned above that lack of light is a disadvantage of winter planting. If the light gets
from the window is not enough for the plant’s day, then you must use the lights for supplemental light. You can also turn on the light for 7-8 hours. The plant light source can be obtained directly from the indoor LED grow lights.
Climbing Post
The shrub type is compact in appearance and can only grow up to 2 feet tall. Unlike the pole types, these types do not require a support frame. Pole beans are vines that grow to 10′-15′ long. It needs enough space and lattice, so be sure to choose a place with enough room for them to climb and stretch.
For indoor planting, you can use a wooden frame ladder to assist the green beans to climb upwards.
Planting Pots
Vine plants such as green beans still need some root space, so mind the pot where you plant them. You need the pots to be at least 8-10 inches for most benefits. If you still end up getting a smaller pot for the plants, there is still not much to worry about. However, you’ll need to water the plants more often.
In conclusion, if you want more production from green bean plants, there’s no more effective alternative than using larger pots. And don’t put the planting pots far from grow lights for vegetables indoors. Most plants will look for brighter light sources due to lack of light, which will lead to leggy.
Green bean plants don’t do well if they wet the soil for a little longer. You need the pots to have adequate drainage holes and not to water them too much.
Watering
In the summer, green beans don’t need much hydration or fertilizers. But that’s not the case during winter. Besides using indoor vegetable growing lights, you’ll also need a steady supply of water. Another fact is that outdoor green bean plants have plenty of root space to grow and hold nutrients, which is not the same as indoor ones. And that’s why indoor green bean plants need extra watering and even fertilizing.
As we’ve already mentioned, green bean plants can’t stay longer in wet soil. It only needs to be well moistened, but not wet. Morning is the ideal time to water. So that the plant can have enough time in the whole day to dry up, and for fertilizers, be sure to use a few light fertilizers once every month.
