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Companion Planting: Why Are Beans Bad?

Eephus Man

Eephus Man

Several companion planting sources I've come across list beans as a crop to avoid planting with peppers.

Anyone know why? Is it stunting to the peppers or the beans, or both?

Most of the same sites list beans as okay with tomatoes and great for eggplant. Shrug.
 
That's interesting. I've never heard that before but can only give an educated guess on this one since I've had beans growing next to peppers for years. I've always thought it would be beneficial since legumes are typically nitrogen fixers. My only thoughts for it being a negative relationship could be (1) due to peppers sensitivity to high nitrogen fertilizers (2) beans climbing habits.

I'm intrigued, so now I have to go look around for info.
 
I'm intrigued, so now I have to go look around for info.
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i don't think you'll find a thing dan, you know when you see a table listed of good versus bad companion plants and no explanation that its an ole wives tale that just gets carried on through illiteracy. in a quick search i found nothing that would support it and a ton of misinformation.

your explanation i would think would be the closest reason, too much nitrogen delivery.

some site even differ between bush beans and pole beans, also, one bean-pro site actually listed as peppers being the enemy - no explanation again. another said beans sprout earlier and rob the soil of nutrients needed by peppers but planting full grown peppers next to beans is okay. another even said beans encourage anthracnose(had to google that too), so i search anthracnose and it says it already exists in bad seeds and not airborn. just a big mass of misinformation.

(yep, there are beanheads out in the world - we finally found a reason to feud with another forum, beanheads versus chilliheads, think i'll join thebeanforum, register as stringybean and post misinformation, then watch to see how many times my polluted posts get replicated - that sounds like fun)
 
Beanheads!?!?! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I should really be concentrating on thesis revisions right now anyway. Keep us informed and let us know if anyone else finds an explanation behind the pepper-hater-beanhead literature out there!
 
Burning Colon said:
i don't think you'll find a thing dan, you know when you see a table listed of good versus bad companion plants and no explanation that its an ole wives tale that just gets carried on through illiteracy. in a quick search i found nothing that would support it and a ton of misinformation.

your explanation i would think would be the closest reason, too much nitrogen delivery.

some site even differ between bush beans and pole beans, also, one bean-pro site actually listed as peppers being the enemy - no explanation again. another said beans sprout earlier and rob the soil of nutrients needed by peppers but planting full grown peppers next to beans is okay. another even said beans encourage anthracnose(had to google that too), so i search anthracnose and it says it already exists in bad seeds and not airborn. just a big mass of misinformation.

(yep, there are beanheads out in the world - we finally found a reason to feud with another forum, beanheads versus chilliheads, think i'll join thebeanforum, register as stringybean and post misinformation, then watch to see how many times my polluted posts get replicated - that sounds like fun)
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Even if it's just hearsay, it seems like there must be *some* underlying reason for not planting beans with peppers.

Either way, I already did. Just trying to figure out if I need to rip the beans out. They aren't nearly as important as my peppers. :)
 
I can't find a whole lot of reasoning but I did find that both beans and capsicums are susceptible to Pythium which will cause sudden wilt. They are also both susceptible to melon thrips.
 
not sure if this might be the cause. the climbing bean stalks vines can strangle your pepper plants.
 
the only kind of beans i wanna grow are bush types. so i guess those'd be actually beneficial by giving back some nitrogen into the soil.
 
11010490 said:
I can't find a whole lot of reasoning but I did find that both beans and capsicums are susceptible to Pythium which will cause sudden wilt. They are also both susceptible to melon thrips.
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Interesting. Are other nightshades less susceptible than peppers? You may be on to something if not.
 
http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html#PARSLEY: for what it's worth.
PEPPERS, HOT: Chili peppers have root exudates that prevent root rot and other Fusarium diseases. Plant anywhere you have these problems. While you should always plant chili peppers close together, providing shelter from the sun with other plants will help keep them from drying out and provide more humidity. Tomato plants, green peppers, and okra are good protection for them. Teas made from hot peppers can be useful as insect sprays. Hot peppers like to be grouped with cucumbers, eggplant, escarole, tomato, okra, Swiss chard and squash. Herbs to plant near them include: basils, oregano, parsley and rosemary. Never put them next to any beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts or fennel.
 
The only thing I found on a quick google search was that the beans put a lot of nitrogen in the soil, and maybe that burns the roots or something.

No evidence or citations, just hearsay.

Perhaps I'll send a few emails out to get a more scientific rationale.
 
My guess is they compete for nutes and space. Bean roots grow VERY FAST and could suck up all the nutes in the soil and even take over the peppers root space. I grew peppers and tomatoes together in a hydro unit and the toms completely outgrew the peppers and left the peppers with a nute deficiency. Id say just keep the beans in a separate raised bed or garden area and u wont have any problems.
 
Still scratching my head on this one. I've looked around a little bit and still can't find any real concrete reasoning behind this. The one thing I read (it was pro-bean propaganda :rofl: ) essentially said that peppers will overcrowd / shade the bean plants. For those of us that place a higher priority on our pepper plants, I haven't found ANYTHING that is detrimental to peppers. Damn beanheads!!!
 
RedtailForester said:
Still scratching my head on this one. I've looked around a little bit and still can't find any real concrete reasoning behind this. The one thing I read (it was pro-bean propaganda :rofl: ) essentially said that peppers will overcrowd / shade the bean plants. For those of us that place a higher priority on our pepper plants, I haven't found ANYTHING that is detrimental to peppers. Damn beanheads!!!
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If it turns out that the beans suffer, and not the peppers, then I'm not moving anything. :)

Other way around and I'll be buying more bean seed!
 
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