Planting Asparagus Bean
Asparagus Bean is a warm season vegetable in the Fabaceae family. Getting the timing right is the difference between a strong stand and a disappointing one, so the windows below are given relative to your own last spring frost and first fall frost rather than a generic calendar date. Look up your local frost dates and count back or forward from there.
Sow Asparagus Bean directly into the garden 2–3 weeks after your last frost, once the soil has warmed.
Spacing and Planting Depth
Give Asparagus Bean room to mature. The figures below come from verified extension and seed-supplier data for typical varieties.
| Spacing in row | 6 inches |
|---|---|
| Row spacing | 36 inches |
| Plants per sq ft | 0.67 |
| Planting depth | 1 inches |
| Sun requirement | Full sun |
Plan a square-foot bed with Asparagus Bean →
Calculate plants in a bed for Asparagus Bean →
Days to Maturity
Asparagus Bean reaches maturity in 75–90 days from sowing. Once ready, plants continue producing for approximately 45 days.
Asparagus Bean is ready to harvest after about 83 days. Picking regularly over the roughly 45-day harvest window keeps plants productive and encourages a longer pick. Harvest before the first fall frost, which will end the plant's productive season.
Conditions and Care
As a warm-season vegetable, Asparagus Bean needs warm soil and settled weather to thrive, and is set back or killed by frost. It is frost tender, so wait until all danger of frost has passed before planting out and harvest before the first fall frost.
Asparagus Bean needs full sun — give it at least six hours of direct light a day for the best growth and flavor. Sow seed about 1 inch deep, then keep the soil evenly moist until seedlings establish.
Asparagus Bean belongs to the Fabaceae family; rotating where you grow members of this family each year helps limit the build-up of soil-borne pests and disease. Asparagus Bean is generally grown as a single planting each season rather than succession sown.
See Asparagus Bean in the full planting calendar for your ZIP →
Plan crop rotation for Fabaceae →
Companion Plants
Pairing Asparagus Bean with the right neighbors can improve growth and deter pests; a few combinations are best avoided.
Grows well with: Corn, Cucumber
Check Asparagus Bean with other crops in your garden →
Growing Notes
Another name for yard-long cowpea; trellis-grown.
Related Crops
Other crops you might grow alongside or instead of Asparagus Bean.
In the same family
Asparagus Bean is in the Fabaceae family. Other Fabaceae crops in the Gardenable database:
Documented companions
These crops are listed as good growing partners for Asparagus Bean:
Similar growing requirements
Crops with similar season and time to maturity — useful if you want a diverse garden on a similar schedule: