Contender Bush Bean Seeds

Contender Bush is a tender stringless bean that is highly productive and tastes best fresh from the garden. This variety came out of a breeding project from the cooperation of several agricultural experiment stations in 1949. It remains a favorite to this day! Beans are flavorful and can be frozen or canned. An early variety, Contender Bush beans grow on medium-sized plants with 6-8″ pods. This variety is tolerant of hot weather, mildew, and mosaic bean virus.

Planting by Zones

Zones 9-10

• Bush beans are best sown directly into the soil after the soil has warmed to at least 70°F. This is typically in late April or May. Bush beans, like all plants in the legume family, fix nitrogen in the soil.

Zones 2-8

• Bush beans should be direct sown when the soil is at least 70 degrees.

Planting Bush Bean Seeds

• Plant bush bean seeds 1″ deep into well-worked and thoroughly watered garden soil. Beans should be planted in a full sun location.   
• Fertilize regularly with an organic liquid fertilizer once the seedlings have germinated and have their first set of true leaves.
• Beans can be planted as close to 7″ apart.

Growing Bush Bean

• Bush beans are incredibly easy to grow and are great for gardens with little space. They do well in raised beds, in ground, and planted in containers.
• Keep weed-free by pulling any weeds that may compete with your bush bean crop.

Succession Planting Bush Bean

• If you enjoy large amounts of bush beans, succession planting is a good idea. Start a new round of seeds every 10 days.

Growing Bush Bean in Containers

• Bush beans are an excellent container variety. If you are planting bush beans in containers, make sure your container is at least 10″ deep. Keep in mind containers will dry out faster because they have more surface area and less soil to hold onto moisture.

Harvesting Bush Bean 

• The key to happy bush beans is to harvest often. The more you harvest, the more beans you will get. Make sure you harvest your beans at the optimal size for fresh eating. If you wish to grow the beans for dry beans, simply let the beans dry on the vine and harvest for dry bean use. Any bean can be used as a fresh bean when it is young, and a dry bean when it is dry.

Southern California Pro-tips

• In areas of Zones 9 and 10, bush bean is a very easy crop to grow.
• Mulch heavily around your bush bean plants to ensure the soil does not dry out or heat up too much.
• During our hottest months of August, September, and October, plants can suffer from the heat. During this time using shade cloth can help protect the plants from extreme heat.
• Do not overhead water as this promotes disease.

Companion Flowers/Crops

• Bush beans are small plants, so do not plant tall flowering plants or veggies in a direction that will shade your bush beans.

Additional Learning Resources

• New to starting crops from seeds? Please watch our Seed Starting Presentation to learn the basics!
• Learn about growing all our crops on our YouTube page!
• Having pest issues? Check out in-depth information for pests that can be an issue to bush beans at the UC Integrated Pest Management site.