Bush vs Pole Beans in a Square Foot Garden
Bush beans: 9 per square. Pole beans: 8 per square, on a trellis. Every chart we checked agrees on both numbers - the Square Foot Gardening Foundation, Clemson Extension and Phipps Conservatory - so the real decision is not spacing. It is what kind of harvest you want: a batch you can pick in a few days, or beans until the first hard frost.
Data reviewed: . Every figure and quote on this page was read from its primary source on this date. Counts are calculated from the same data the planner uses.
The short answer
- Bush beans: 9 per square, anywhere in the bed, no support needed.
- Pole beans: 8 per square, at the base of a trellis on the north edge.
- Our planner shows pole beans at 9 per square, because its grid only holds 1, 4, 9 or 16 plants in a square. Sow 8.
What the published charts say
Plants per square foot, exactly as each chart states it, next to what our planner counts. These are the same three charts we compare for every crop on our spacing comparison page.
Bush beans
- SFG Foundation
- 9
- Clemson Extension
- 9
- Phipps Conservatory
- 9
- Our planner
- 9
Pole beans
- SFG Foundation
- 8
- Clemson Extension
- 8
- Phipps Conservatory
- 8
- Our planner
- 9
In their own words
Quoted from each source as published, so you can check our reading. Where a source is a table, the row is shown with its columns separated by a bar.
Square Foot Gardening Foundation
"Square Foot Spacing" (2024)
Medium-sized plants are placed four inches apart. These include beets, bush beans, leeks, spinach, and turnips. (9 plants per square)
There are some exceptions, however. Bush squash varieties, for instance, require 9 whole squares while vining varieties need two squares. Peas and pole beans, on the other hand, are sown 8 seeds per square.
Since the SFG Method skips the thinning process to save us from wasting seeds and extra work, I'll sow just one seed in the center of one of my grid sections.
Square Foot Gardening Foundation
"Keen on Green Beans? Grow Flavorful Vining and Bush Varieties" (2022)
Bush beans need minimal support in your garden, which makes them ideal for small spaces.
Plant them nine to a square. On these plants, all the beans mature around the same time so they can be harvested within a few days. If you want to put up a big batch of green beans, order this variety. However, this also means those plants are done for the season - their harvest is pretty much over.
Pole beans (also called climbing, vining, or runner) need a support - think netting or a trellis - as they grow UP to produce beans all season until the first hard frost. Plant these eight to a square.
Flavor-wise, some gardeners feel that bush varieties have a bit less flavor than vining beans.
Kentucky Wonder - Also known as 'Old Homestead' produces thick, meaty, stringless pods that offer fabulous flavor. Not to be confused with the bush version of Kentucky Wonder. 6'-8' feet tall. 68-72 days to harvest.
Clemson Cooperative Extension
"Small-Scale Gardening" (2022)
Beans, bush | 9
Beans, pole | 8
If planting a vegetable that climbs, place a trellis at the north side of the raised bed and orient those crops in that location.
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
"Square Foot Gardening Guide" (2020)
Beans- Bush | 9 | Medium
Beans- Pole | 8, with trellis | Tall
If you're going to use a trellis, mark where it will go. A trellis should go on the north or west side of the bed. Put climbing plants, such as pole beans, cucumbers or peas at the base of the trellis.
Why the sources differ
The harvest, not the spacing
On bush plants, the Foundation says, "all the beans mature around the same time so they can be harvested within a few days" - good for a big freezing or canning batch, and then the plants are finished for the season. Pole beans climb and "produce beans all season until the first hard frost".
Support and height
Bush beans need minimal support, which the Foundation says makes them ideal for small spaces. Pole beans need netting or a trellis, and they grow tall - the Foundation lists Kentucky Wonder at 6 to 8 feet - so they belong on the north edge, where their shade falls on the path instead of your other crops.
Flavor
The Foundation notes that some gardeners feel bush varieties have a bit less flavor than vining beans. That is taste, not spacing, but it is often what settles the choice.
The only disagreement is ours
Every chart gives pole beans 8 per square. Our planner's grid can only hold 1, 4, 9 or 16 plants in a square, so it rounds pole beans to 9. The rounding is ours, not the method's.
Beans spacing by type
Bush beans
9 per square
Anywhere in the bed
Who gives this figure
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "Square Foot Spacing" - bush beans
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "Keen on Green Beans? Grow Flavorful Vining and Bush Varieties" - bush beans
- Clemson Cooperative Extension, "Small-Scale Gardening" - bush beans
- Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, "Square Foot Gardening Guide" - bush beans
Pole beans, on a trellis
8 per square
North edge, on a trellis
Who gives this figure
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "Square Foot Spacing" - pole beans
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "Keen on Green Beans? Grow Flavorful Vining and Bush Varieties" - pole beans, with a support
- Clemson Cooperative Extension, "Small-Scale Gardening" - pole beans
- Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, "Square Foot Gardening Guide" - pole beans, with a trellis
What we recommend
Want one big picking for the freezer, or have no trellis? Grow bush beans, 9 per square. Our planner's notes suggest sowing a new square every 2 to 3 weeks for a longer season.
Want beans all summer from a small footprint? Grow pole beans, 8 per square, along a trellis on the north edge.
Cannot decide? Grow both, as in the plan below: pole beans on the trellis, bush beans in front of them.
In the planner
The planner counts bush beans at 9 and pole beans at 9 per square. The published figure for pole beans is 8, so expect one fewer pole bean per square than the planner shows.
How many beans fit in your bed
Calculated for every bed size we publish plans for. Tap a bed size to see finished layouts for it.
| Bed | Squares | Pole beans along a north-edge trellis8 per square | The same trellis, as the planner counts it9 per square | Bush beans in every square9 per square |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2x4 | 8 | 32 | 36 | 72 |
| 3x3 | 9 | 24 | 27 | 81 |
| 2x8 | 16 | 64 | 72 | 144 |
| 4x4 | 16 | 32 | 36 | 144 |
| 3x6 | 18 | 48 | 54 | 162 |
| 4x6 | 24 | 48 | 54 | 216 |
| 5x5 | 25 | 40 | 45 | 225 |
| 4x8 | 32 | 64 | 72 | 288 |
| 4x12 | 48 | 96 | 108 | 432 |
Counts assume the long side of the bed faces north, with the trellis along it. The bush-bean column fills every square in the bed.
A bed plan built around beans
Pole beans behind, bush beans in front
4x4 bedBoth kinds in one bed: pole beans on a north-edge trellis for picking all summer, a block of bush beans for one big harvest, and no onions, garlic or chives anywhere near them.
What that plants
- Bush Bean - 4 squares36
- Pole Bean - 4 squares36
- Carrot - 2 squares32
- Radish - 2 squares32
- Lettuce - 2 squares8
- Marigold - 2 squares8
- Total plants152
Pole Bean: the planner counts 36; at the published 8 per square it is 32.
Loads every square into the free planner. Change anything, add your frost date for sow dates, then print it or copy a share link. Nothing to sign up for.
Beans in our other bed plans
Every ready-made plan on this site that already includes beans, and how much room it gives them.
- The beginner mixed bed (4x4 bed)bush bean: 2 squares, 18 plants
- The family summer bed (4x8 bed)bush bean: 2 squares, 18 plants; pole bean: 2 squares, 18 in the planner, 16 at the published figure
- The summer mixed bed (3x6 bed)bush bean: 1 square, 9 plants; pole bean: 2 squares, 18 in the planner, 16 at the published figure
- The everyday family bed (4x6 bed)bush bean: 1 square, 9 plants; pole bean: 2 squares, 18 in the planner, 16 at the published figure
- The full-season family bed (4x12 bed)bush bean: 3 squares, 27 plants; pole bean: 3 squares, 27 in the planner, 24 at the published figure
- The preserving bed (4x12 bed)bush bean: 2 squares, 18 plants; pole bean: 4 squares, 36 in the planner, 32 at the published figure
- The nine-square starter (3x3 bed)bush bean: 1 square, 9 plants; pole bean: 1 square, 9 in the planner, 8 at the published figure
- The 25-square summer bed (5x5 bed)bush bean: 1 square, 9 plants; pole bean: 2 squares, 18 in the planner, 16 at the published figure
Good neighbors, and ones to keep apart
Bush Bean
Traditional good neighbors
The planner warns when these touch
Pole Bean
Traditional good neighbors
The planner warns when these touch
These pairings are traditional companion-planting guidance, not settled science. Our companion planting chart says which ones have research behind them.
Read the companion planting chartWhen to plant
Bush Bean
- Season
- Warm season, full sun
- Planner sow date
- 1 week after your last spring frost
- Days to harvest
- 50-60 days (typical range; check your seed packet)
- Planner note
- Direct sow after last frost; succession sow every 2-3 wks. Do not transplant.
Pole Bean
- Season
- Warm season, full sun
- Planner sow date
- 1 week after your last spring frost
- Days to harvest
- 60-75 days (typical range; check your seed packet)
- Planner note
- Direct sow after last frost at the base of a trellis. Canonical SFG spacing is ~8 seeds/sq ft, rounded here to 9.
Questions about beans
How many bush beans per square foot?
Nine. The Foundation's bean guide says "Plant them nine to a square", and Clemson and Phipps both give 9 too. That is 4-inch spacing: 3 across and 3 down.
How many pole beans per square foot?
Eight, grown up a trellis or netting. The Foundation's spacing page and bean guide, Clemson and Phipps all give 8. Our planner shows 9 only because its grid cannot hold 8.
How many bean seeds per square foot?
One seed per planting spot, so 9 for bush beans and 8 for pole beans. Square foot gardening, in the Foundation's words, "skips the thinning process to save us from wasting seeds and extra work".
Bush beans or pole beans: which should I grow?
Bush beans if you want one big harvest for preserving, or have no trellis. Pole beans if you want to keep picking all summer. In the Foundation's summary, bush plants are harvested within a few days, while pole beans produce until the first hard frost.
Can you plant beans next to onions?
Our planner warns when beans touch chives, garlic and onion. That is traditional companion-planting guidance, and our companion guide rates it as having little scientific support. If you would rather follow it anyway, keep those crops a square or more away, as the plan on this page does.
Sources
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "Square Foot Spacing" (2024). View the source (read 2026-09-26)
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "Keen on Green Beans? Grow Flavorful Vining and Bush Varieties" (2022). View the source (read 2026-09-26)
- Clemson Cooperative Extension, "Small-Scale Gardening" (2022). View the source (read 2026-09-26)
- Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, "Square Foot Gardening Guide" (2020). View the source (read 2026-09-26)
- Every quote on this page was read from the raw text of the source page or PDF, not from a search summary or a secondary blog. Curly quotes and long dashes were straightened to plain characters; nothing else was changed.