Time to plant beans in Texas! It’s going to be a warm week, which will heat the soil enough for the seeds to germinate. Any type of bean can go in now–soy, snap peas, snow peas or green beans. I soak my seeds and put them directly into the soil Most beans don’t like to be transplanted. Look over at the gardening menu on the left if you are looking for more information about pests or mildew.

I also finished putting in my lillies and dalhias. It’s the first year I’ve tried these. It might be early for the dalhias, but any freezes that we have coming aren’t likely to be more than a few hours during a night, and I mulched over the bulbs pretty heavily.

The daffodils are coming up and I’m just starting to see the hyacinths peeking through the soil. I just love the signs of spring! I can’t wait for the smell of those flowers. They are my favorite!

Of course, with spring comes some additional work. I also had to trim back bushes, including the crepe myrtles. I haven’t tackled the oleander yet. That thing looks like some sort of monster out of a movie. I’m afraid to walk by it. If it grabs me, I could disappear inside that bush forever!

Snap and Snow
I planted snap peas and snow peas in the fall and then babied them through the winter in the Hill Country. I’ve tried planting them in the spring also, but hot weather kills these bean plants in a hurry so your yield will be smaller.

I don’t think they produce above about 85 degrees so it’s imperative to start them early and then cover them through any freezes. We had freezes in the low twenties and the plants made it fine covered. A good compromise is probably to plant them during any warm winter week (so that the seeds germinate in the warmer soil) in very early January. Of course that is assuming there is a nice warm week sometime in January…the seeds I planted in early October came up in about two weeks. By February, they were already producing a bean here and there. Bumper crop by March!

These plants are bothered by aphids, thripes and spider mites so I spray with water and/or insecticide soap every three weeks or so. Neem oil also works as an effective spray. Spray early and weekly for spider mites if you have them in your area.

These plants are also troubled late in the season (which is around March in Texas) by white powery mildew–at first signs of it, use neem oil or mix up some powdered milk and spray it on both sides of the leaves. You can also try spraying a mix of 1/2 tsp baking soda per quart of water, but because of the salt content in baking soda, you can’t use often. I’ve had less luck with the baking soda, but it does help.

More on pest control.

Other Beans
Because of the heat, I would plant any type of green bean as early as possible in Texas–January, February at the latest. Cover for freezes.