This summer I grew bush beans in the Nest TruDrop Raised Bed Planter. The Nest is a raised-bed type of container with the TruDrop self-watering system. It comes in three sizes and several colors. Mine, which is 18 x 36 inches in bark color, was easy to assemble on my deck. I filled the Nest with a bag of potting mix and then filled the reservoir with water.
Growing Beans in a Nest Planter
I chose bush beans because they are only a few feet high and do not need support. Pole beans grow much higher requiring staking. Beans are very easy to grow. In May, when the danger of frost has passed here in Virginia, I pushed two seeds down in the soil with my thumb about an inch deep. Although the reservoir was full of water, I watered overhead to make sure the bean seeds were in contact with moisture.
During the months of May and June I notice an unusual amount of squirrel activity. The squirrels are constantly getting in my other containers, which were not raised like the Nest. Every time I sowed seeds in my other containers, the squirrels would dig up the soil, displacing the seed so nothing would grow. This happened with containers on the deck as well as on my property. It was very frustrating — I tried everything to deter them. It felt like a waste of money because they kicked the seeds out of the container or uncovered many of seeds for the birds to eat. But I would keep on re-sowing the seeds and ended up with a late start on my herbs and vegetables.
Interestingly, the squirrels never touched the Nest. I don’t know why but for some reason the squirrels never went near the Nest even though it was against the banister so they could access the soil if they wanted.
Untouched by squirrels, the beans germinated quickly. In June, I scratched in granular fertilizer. Plants grown in containers lose nutrients faster than plants in the ground because rain leaches the nutrients out. To have healthy plants and a good production of beans, you must add fertilizer mid-summer. Only later did I learn that with the TruDrop planters, a liquid fertilizer can be added to the water reservoir to provide consistent nutritional feed to your plants throughout the growing season.
A Plentiful Harvest of Beans
As soon as the slender green pods appeared in July, I picked them for the family because the more you pick, the more the plant continues to produce more beans. Since the container was waist high on my deck so I could walk out to the deck from the kitchen door and pick immediately before dinner. Couldn’t get any fresher.
The two plants in the Nest were more than enough for my family. I had two more bush bean plants in the ground, but these were decimated by rabbits. Yet another reason to grow beans in the Nest — rabbits cannot get near them.
The Best Pest Protection for Vegetable Plants
In my area, bean plants often are attacked by Mexican bean beetles. These look like orange ladybugs and are cousins of the friendly ladybug. Mexican bean beetles have orange to copper-colored backs with 16 black spots. They lay yellow, oval-shaped eggs in clusters on the underside of the leaves. The larvae also are yellow and oval-shaped with branched spines. All forms will eat the foliage.
However, my plants did not have any pests. I firmly believe that vegetable plants need a consistent source of moisture and a high level of nutrients to prevent stress. Stressed plans are more prone to being attacked by pests. Using the TruDrop self-watering system provides the plants with consistent moisture, so they are not fluctuating between saturated soil (after rains) and dry soil (between rains).
Year-Round Growing in a Nest Planter
Bush beans do not produce beans all summer long. If you want beans until frost, you must sow several times during the growing season. But I have plan. When these stop producing beans in August, I will pull them out and replace them with cool season vegetables. Although it does not seem like it because it is hot, August is the time to start growing the cool season vegetables. The Nest would be perfect for kale, spinach, or lettuce. Using the Nest Greenhouse Cover, I can provide enough warmth to grow these types of plants well into the winter.
