✨ Second beans in, lettuce on borrowed time, fall cabbage whispering from the seed tray.
Succession sowing bush beans in Portland is the move this week, while the soil is warm, the forecast is bone dry, and my first row from mid May is finally flowering. I dropped my second succession yesterday between watering rounds, and I'm already pencil marking the calendar for a third sowing around July 4. With 92°F coming Friday, getting those seeds in now means they germinate fast and outrun the worst of the heat as seedlings.
This Week's Action List
- 1
Sow bush bean seed one inch deep, three inches apart, in rows 18 inches apart. I'm planting Provider for reliability and Jade for that crisp snap — both hit picking size in 50 to 55 days, which lands harvests in early August.
- 2
Water the seed furrow deeply before sowing, then again lightly after. With zero rain in the forecast and Friday pushing 92°F, dry soil at the seed line means spotty germination. I run a soaker hose for 30 minutes the night before I plant.
- 3
Side dress your first bean planting (the one flowering now) with a light scatter of compost, not nitrogen. Beans fix their own nitrogen, and too much fertilizer gives you lush vines and lazy pods. A half inch of compost along the row is plenty.
- 4
Start your fall broccoli and cabbage seeds indoors this week if you haven't yet — I'm sowing Belstar broccoli and Caraflex cabbage under lights at 70°F. They'll be ready to transplant out around July 20, right when the bean succession kicks into gear.
- 5
Pick lettuce daily right now or lose it to bolt. With three days above 85°F coming, even heat tolerant types like Jericho and Muir will start stretching. I'm cutting whole heads at the base each morning and stashing them in the crisper before the sun hits the bed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I succession sow bush beans in Portland?
Sow a new row every two to three weeks from mid May through mid July. In Zone 8b, a final sowing around July 15 to 20 still ripens before our first frost in mid November. After late July, daylight drops too fast for reliable pod set.
Why are my bush bean leaves turning yellow in June?
In Portland, yellowing in June is usually one of three things: waterlogged soil from heavy overhead watering, nitrogen burn from over fertilizing, or spider mites stressing plants in hot dry stretches. Check the undersides of leaves for fine webbing, ease back on water, and skip the nitrogen — beans rarely need it.