When to Plant Climbing Beans in Alice Springs, Arid / Semi-Arid Guide
Sow January to February and August to September. Right now in October it is out of season. The next sowing month is January.
Grow Climbing Beans in your space
- Planting window
- Beans drop their flowers in midsummer heat, so grow a spring crop sown in September and an autumn crop sown in January-February. Watch for...
- Days to harvest
- 60 days
- Sunlight
- Full sun (minimum 6 hours, preferably 8 hours)
- Water needs
- Regular deep watering during flowering and pod set is critical. Inconsistent watering...
- Spacing
- 15cm apart, 80cm between rows
- Soil pH
- 6.0-7.0
Published · Last reviewed · By GardenBuddy.au
Growing advice is reviewed by hand. Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.
This Climbing Beans guide is written for the Arid / Semi-Arid zone, which takes in Alice Springs, Broken Hill and Port Augusta. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
Not your zone? Cairns Brisbane Sydney Melbourne Canberra Perth
Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.
Climbing beans are warm-season legumes that produce heavily over a long season when given a suitable support structure. They include common pole beans (P. vulgaris) and scarlet runner beans (P. coccineus). Runner beans tolerate cooler conditions than common beans. Both fix atmospheric nitrogen via Rhizobium bacteria in root nodules, improving soil fertility.
See what grows now in your own postcode
Planting Calendar for Arid / Semi-Arid
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S/D | T/D | - | - | - | - | - | S | T/D | - | - | - |
S = Seed Tray T = Transplant D = Direct Sow
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Current Growing Conditions
Soil temperature: 24.4°C (optimal range: 16–30°C) ✓ Ready to plant
Modelled from Open-Meteo forecast (Alice Springs), not a live sensor.
What this month normally looks like
In October the Arid / Semi-Arid zone normally runs 32°C by day and 16°C overnight, with about 19 mm of rain over 2 or 3 wet days. The coldest October night on record across the zone was 1.9°C, so a late frost is not out of the question. Averages 1991 to 2026, 10 postcodes, SILO.
How to Grow Climbing Beans in Arid / Semi-Arid Australia
When to Plant
Beans drop their flowers in midsummer heat, so grow a spring crop sown in September and an autumn crop sown in January-February. Watch for red spider mite in dry weather.
- Soil
- Well-drained, fertile loam enriched with compost. Avoid freshly manured soil (excess nitrogen causes leaf growth at expense of pods).
- pH Range
- 6.0-7.0
- Sunlight
- Full sun (minimum 6 hours, preferably 8 hours)
- Spacing
- 15cm apart, 80cm between rows
- Watering
- Regular deep watering during flowering and pod set is critical. Inconsistent watering causes flower drop and tough, stringy pods. Water at base, avoid wetting foliage.
Companion plants: Corn, Squash, Marigold, Radish, Carrot
Avoid planting near: Onions, Garlic, Fennel, Beetroot
Grow before, grow after
Beans - Climbing sits in the legumes turn of a four turn bed rotation.
- Grow before it
- Roots and alliums (Carrot, Beetroot, Onion)
- Grow after it
- Leafy greens and brassicas (Lettuce, Silverbeet, Broccoli)
Give the bed 3 turns before legumes go back in. Beans and peas fix nitrogen, so they leave the bed richer than they found it.
Arid / Semi-Arid Growing Tips for Climbing Beans
Recommended Varieties
- Blue Lake
- Kentucky Wonder
- Purple King
Key Challenges
- Extreme heat above 38C causing total flower drop
- Two-spotted mite in hot, dry conditions
- High water demand
Pro Tips
- 30-50% shade cloth in summer is essential to reduce heat stress
- Drip irrigation is non-negotiable in arid conditions
- Two-spotted mite is the number one pest here, monitor constantly
Harvesting Climbing Beans
When ready: Green beans: pods snap crisply when bent, seeds inside are small and immature, pod surface is smooth (not lumpy from enlarged seeds). Shell/dry beans: leave on vine until pods are brown and papery, seeds rattle when shaken.
How to harvest: Hold the stem with one hand and pull the pod with the other to avoid breaking branches. Use scissors for tough stems. Harvest green beans every 2-3 days. For dry beans, cut entire vine and hang upside down to finish drying.
Preserving: pressure canning
7 tested pressure-canning recipes for Beans - climbing: 2 where it is the crop being canned and 5 where it is a main ingredient. Each one comes from published home canning guidelines. The conversion to Australian units is ours, with psi beside every kPa. Always follow your pressure canner's manual.
Worth growing?
A 2.4 m × 1.2 m bed fits 9 plants, about $66 worth at today’s Coles prices, checked today.
That is roughly 5 kg at $14.67 a kilo.
Draw your climbing beans bed → No account needed.
Where to next
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Open the planting dashboard Join GardenBuddy.auCommon Questions About Climbing Beans
When do you plant climbing beans in Australia?
It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:
- Tropical (Cairns): Apr to Aug
- Subtropical (Brisbane): Feb to Mar, Aug to Nov
- Warm Temperate (Sydney): Jan to Feb, Sep to Dec
- Cool Temperate (Melbourne): Jan, Nov to Dec
- Cold / Highland (Canberra): Jan, Nov to Dec
- Arid / Semi-Arid (Alice Springs): Jan to Feb, Aug to Sep
- Mediterranean (Perth): Jan to Feb, Sep to Dec
Does climbing beans grow all year round in Alice Springs?
No. In the Arid / Semi-Arid zone the planting months are Jan to Feb, Aug to Sep. Outside that window it either bolts, sulks or gets cut down by the weather.
Which zone am I in?
Type your postcode into the box under the heading and the page tells you, and links this crop in your own zone if it differs. Or look it up on the grow zone map. This page is the Arid / Semi-Arid zone, Alice Springs is its reference city.