Best time to plant yardlong bean in Alice Springs
Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis
Also called snake bean, asparagus bean, Chinese long bean, long bean
Sow yardlong bean in Alice Springs in Oct to Feb.
A vigorous climbing form of cowpea, this bean is grown for very long, slim green pods of 35 to 75 cm, used much like green beans. The name oversells them, as they rarely reach a full yard. It suits warm climates and is widely grown across South and Southeast Asia.
When to sow in Alice Springs
Alice Springs, NT is in the arid zone. The zone also plants in Sep, but Alice Springs's frost dates make those months risky for a frost-tender crop.
Not yet checked against a local guide.
Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.
Frost in Alice Springs
Frost usually arrives in Alice Springs around late May and finishes by mid September. In about 1 year in 10 it comes as early as early May or as late as early October, so frost-tender crops are planned around those dates.
From its Bureau of Meteorology station, 1991 to 2020, counting a night at 2°C or lower as a frost. Frost hollows and hillsides can shift these dates by weeks, so ask the growers at your garden too.
On a shared plot: suits a plot
Finishes in a season and stays within its space, so it suits most plots.
Growing details
- How to start
- Sow directly in the bed
- Sowing depth
- 15mm
- Plant spacing
- 45cm
- Row spacing
- 60cm
- Height
- 270cm
- Germination
- 10-21 days at 20-30°C
- Time to harvest
- 70 days
- Frost
- Frost tender
- Sun
- Full sun
- Life cycle
- annual
These are typical figures, and varieties differ. Your seed packet takes priority.