How to Grow Black Beans

Days to germination: 10 to 14 days
Days to harvest: 100 to 140 days
Light requirements: Full sun
Water requirements: Regularly, but not excessively
Soil: Well-drained and fertile soil
Container: Suitable for pots

Introduction

The small black bean is particularly popular in Caribbean, Latin American and Mexican cuisines. It’s also sometimes called a turtle bean or a Tampico bean. These beans should not be confused with the “black bean” used in Chinese cooking, as it refers to fermented soybeans (or Douchi) in Asia.

For nutrition, the black bean is a very good source of fiber, protein, folic acid, iron and tryptophan. They are not eaten raw or fresh, only cooked once they have dried and cured (done at harvest).

Black bean plants are usually the vining type, but some varieties grow in a shorter bush form. Either way, your plants won’t usually grow taller than around 3 feet.

Starting from Seed

Like most other varieties of dry bean, the black bean doesn’t like to be transplanted so you are better off planning to sow them right out into the garden.

Your garden location should be in full sun, and you may want to add a product called inoculant to the soil when you are digging it up before planting. It’s a common additive when planting any legumes, such as beans or peas. While it’s not strictly necessary, you will see a big difference if you use it. It just helps the plant’s roots fix nitrogen better, and it is a natural product rather than an artificial fertilizer. Your local nursery or garden center should carry it in powdered form.

Soak your bean seed overnight before your planting day, which should be after your last frost date. Vining beans will need about 3 to 4 inches between them, and 6 to 8 inches of space should be left if you are planting bush varieties. Bean seeds should be buried about an inch under the soil. Bean seeds germinate very successfully, so you shouldn’t need to plant too many more seeds than you want final plants.

Vining beans will grow to several feet in height and will need support. Put a trellis or pole in place right when you are putting in the seeds so that you don’t damage the vines or roots later on. Your vines may naturally grip the supports, but you will likely have to tie up your vines to keep them upright.

Growing Instructions

Water your plants regularly, but don’t overwater. They will suffer if their roots are left wet for too long, which is why you need to choose a well-draining location to plant. Let the soil dry out a bit between waterings.

If you decide to use any fertilizer, make sure to only use mixtures with low nitrogen content. Beans make their own nitrogen, and adding extra to the soil will leave you with extremely leafy plants and no beans. You probably don’t need to add any extra nutrients at all.

Black bean roots grow shallowly under the ground, so don’t be digging too heavily around your plants as you try to take out the weeds. Either pull by hand, or layer on some organic mulch.

Containers

Black beans will grow just fine in large pots, but you will need a number of plants to get a usable harvest. Most people will grow about 8 plants per person, so it may not be that convenient to have so many plants in containers.

Bush plants do best, but you can also grow vining bean varieties in pots as well. The containers should be at least 12 inches across and deep for each plant.

Like beans grown in the garden, inoculant can be very helpful and should be mixed in with the soil when you are planting your seeds. Add an extra layer of stone to the bottom of the pot to speed up drainage so the roots don’t sit in wet soil.

Pests and Diseases

Black beans may be susceptible to bean mosaic virus, though resistant varieties are available on the market. The symptoms are a generally stunted plant, and the leaves can be curled or puckered. The disease is spread by aphids, so you should take extra care to keep them off your black bean plants.

Aphids will wash off with a garden hose pretty easily, but that’s not really a long-term solution unless you want to squirt your plants every few hours. Pyrethrin sprays can keep them off your plants for longer, but will need reapplying after any rains. Buy a box of live ladybugs and let them loose in your bean patch, and that should take care of your aphid problem.

Other insects may attack black beans, such as various kinds of bean beetles, leafhoppers and flea beetles. Remove them by hand when you see them, and spray with insecticide to help repel them further.

Harvest and Storage

Black beans are left on the vine until they have dried, so you won’t have that much difficulty figuring out when they are ready to pick. The pods will turn yellow, dry and even split open when the beans are ready. If you bite into one, your teeth shouldn’t make much of a dent in it.

If you are expecting wet weather right around maturity time, you may want to pick your pods and let them finish drying indoors. Spread out the pods where it is warm and well-ventilated until they are fully dry.

For small crops of black beans, you can shell them out of their pods by hand but that can be very time-consuming if you have a large harvest. An easier method is to dump all the dried pods in a bag or pillowcase, and either step all over the bag or swing it against a wall a few times. Then you can just sift out the debris and collect the dry beans.

As long as they are thoroughly dry, you can store them without any special conditions for up to a year. An air-tight container works best to keep out any insect pests.

14 Responses to “How to Grow Black Beans”

Patchesthedrow Says:
April 12th, 2012 at 3:48 pm
I’m planning on returning the soil quality to my garden (plus I think I have some nightshade blight) and simultaneously growing plants for the winter, so this should help.
Julie Says:
December 1st, 2012 at 8:04 pm
Can you grow black bean bush beans for green bean harvest and still get black beans later in the season? Especially, in region 4?
Kelly Says:
July 23rd, 2014 at 8:11 am
This is all good to know. I was curious about harvest time. I’ve got about a dozen plants around my mailbox.
Gail K Dolly Says:
December 23rd, 2014 at 3:29 pm
I plan on planting 24 plants (8 for husband, 8 for me and 8 for sharing) and am so happy that my favorite (and healthiest) bean will be available for me to grow in my raised beds. I had never read about black beans (just made them occasionally) but since my husband and I are on a new, healthy-eating lifestyle they certainly give you an enormous bang for your buck … they are among the healthiest beans I’ve ever researched! Thank heavens for black beans!
justina Says:
March 30th, 2015 at 8:33 am
I live in florida and I have four black bean plants the leaves are not yellow or brown but they
look like they are going to die the leaves are crumpled and sagging I give them just enough water to lightly moisten the top of the dirt and they get plenty of sun and I have never seen a bug on them.They are not mature yet so I have never had a harvest what is wrong with them?
Mandy Says:
April 23rd, 2015 at 9:22 am
Justina…I live in central florida. I currently have 4 black bean plants growing. I had the same problem and sprayed them with some neem oil on the undersides of the leaves. Within a week they flourished and I have tons of beans growing.
Emil Says:
May 7th, 2015 at 9:55 am
Hi Justina!
Do you have them in a large pot, enough for the plants?
Do you now if the dirt is good enough for your plant?

Tip:
The Castanospermum should not be in a hot or cold room.

Some plants with long leaves needs to be sprayed with water, otherwise the top of the leaves can be dryed out.
Emil Says:
May 7th, 2015 at 9:59 am
Hi again Justina!
Wait a bit longer than just the top of the dirt to get moist.
The rest of the dirt maybe still are wet when you water again. This can be your problem…

Good luck!
Erica Says:
May 26th, 2015 at 6:31 pm
I am curious if I could can my black beans? This is my first year growing them and have only come across information on dry storage. I would love to can the black beans. Does anyone have any info on this process?
Administrator Says:
June 20th, 2015 at 7:55 am
You could, but you would need a pressure canner.
atians Says:
July 28th, 2015 at 8:05 am
Drying is an optimum method for storage. Why would you want to take up more room and energy by adding water before they are ready to be cooked? Just plan your meal ahead and soak the night before.
Frannk Says:
August 29th, 2016 at 2:50 pm
you need to install these meshes judias my crops even if the fruit is very light

This is the kind of meshes for beans that a farmer friend recommended me (down)

https://www.hortomallas.com/en/tutoring-long-beans-trellis-netting/
Malcolm Lewis Says:
September 28th, 2016 at 4:09 pm
I love this, I’m using it for background information for a science project. This is absolutely helpful!
martha richardson Says:
July 25th, 2017 at 4:51 pm
well,
I took a handful of black beans and planted them in my garden, wow ! i’ve never grown beans before they have grown in a short time, i make a good black bean chilli, i’m also try out a jahpeno pepper.
i’m maybe 60 days into my garden but the beans have gone wild.