For the background information... I am in Virginia near the coast, apparently near the edge of zone 8A and 7B depending on which source you ask. I just harvested pods that an ex had planted but not taken care of well once she realized they weren't green beans. What I see from these dried pods they were a very small black bean and another that varies between light grey / tan to light brown and visually appear to be like Kidney beans but paler in color. These beans were planted in a 9" tall planter that did ok for tomatoes and another that did incredibly well for sweet and jalepeno peppers. So now that I have pulled these beans I am looking at trying my hand at growing them next year but I have a few questions. My plan is to put the beans in a raised bed that will see both morning and afternoon sun, more afternoon than morning. Because of this I am considering planting on both sides of a trellis, one side will see more morning and one side more afternoon. I have heard the rule of about 6 hours of sun but I wasn't sure if it matters on the time of day since I have heard one is stronger than the other. I plan a raised bed since the area I want to use cannot be dug, cables underground. I would like to do 1 ft high by 7ft long by 1ft deep, it appears to be the root ball of these plants are not wide or deep, but I wonder if I should do 2ft by 6ft? It sounds like the rule is planting about every 3 inches for vine plants? And would that mean I should go every 6 inches on each side of the trellis so the plants do not crowd each other or can I plan 4 inches on each side? Essentially I think that question is focusing on is the space requirement more for the roots or the plant spacing as each side of the trellis would place the seeds about 3 inches apart with every 4 inches on each side but the plants sharing the same trellis would really be about 2 inches apart as they grow up. Is it bad to plant two beans in a hole to increase the chances of a successful growth? I am uncertain if a stronger one will take hold or if I would end up with two plants fighting for growth by doing that. My last question is just a curiosity about a previous response to a comment. It was mentioned that varieties do not grow true from parent to future seedlings, I think it was said only heirloom plants stay true. Does that mean the plant will revert to one of the original parent species over generations or will they just change from year to year. Also would it be possible given that previous statement that over generations you could end up with two very different types of bean as they revert to true form?
For the background information... I am in Virginia near the coast, apparently near the edge of zone 8A and 7B depending on which source you ask. I just harvested pods that an ex had planted but not taken care of well once she realized they weren't green beans. What I see from these dried pods they were a very small black bean and another that varies between light grey / tan to light brown and visually appear to be like Kidney beans but paler in color. These beans were planted in a 9" tall planter that did ok for tomatoes and another that did incredibly well for sweet and jalepeno peppers. So now that I have pulled these beans I am looking at trying my hand at growing them next year but I have a few questions. My plan is to put the beans in a raised bed that will see both morning and afternoon sun, more afternoon than morning. Because of this I am considering planting on both sides of a trellis, one side will see more morning and one side more afternoon. I have heard the rule of about 6 hours of sun but I wasn't sure if it matters on the time of day since I have heard one is stronger than the other. I plan a raised bed since the area I want to use cannot be dug, cables underground. I would like to do 1 ft high by 7ft long by 1ft deep, it appears to be the root ball of these plants are not wide or deep, but I wonder if I should do 2ft by 6ft? It sounds like the rule is planting about every 3 inches for vine plants? And would that mean I should go every 6 inches on each side of the trellis so the plants do not crowd each other or can I plan 4 inches on each side? Essentially I think that question is focusing on is the space requirement more for the roots or the plant spacing as each side of the trellis would place the seeds about 3 inches apart with every 4 inches on each side but the plants sharing the same trellis would really be about 2 inches apart as they grow up. Is it bad to plant two beans in a hole to increase the chances of a successful growth? I am uncertain if a stronger one will take hold or if I would end up with two plants fighting for growth by doing that. My last question is just a curiosity about a previous response to a comment. It was mentioned that varieties do not grow true from parent to future seedlings, I think it was said only heirloom plants stay true. Does that mean the plant will revert to one of the original parent species over generations or will they just change from year to year. Also would it be possible given that previous statement that over generations you could end up with two very different types of bean as they revert to true form?