Planting bush beans again this year. After sifting and raking smooth the soil I covered it with a permeable black fabric mulch cloth. On this I placed some high vis orange plastic barrier material. I use kitchen shears to cut a cross in every 4th opening. Then I insert the bean seed, cover with some soil and water. Works great and plants like the red light.

Welcome to NGA, Steve. Interesting project.

I really like this idea. Makes it easy to plant uniform rows. Excellent! to NGA.

Thanks, it's nice not to have to cut holes but rather make an X and the sprout will open the "door" itself.

Hi & welcome! You put a lot of work into that. Best luck!

Very clever way to create a planting grid, Steve - I'd love to see some photos of it after the beans come up!

OK, Sandy, I'll try to remember. I should see little heads poking up any day.

embermason said: OK, Sandy, I'll try to remember. I should see little heads poking up any day.

Looks like we got a winner in the first to pop up category. Here's the first bush bean to raise its little head. It'll look quite different in another week.

Most have sprouted.

job well done!

looking good, Steve!

Looks like the beans like their new colorful home. They're starting to pick up steam growing.

Looks great. Well worth the effort.

Starting to see blossoms.

Once they get going they really grow fast!

Lots of blossoms and now hard to see the orange below.

...and this concludes my concern about heat from the dark plastic. It's pretty much shaded now. Wow, those plants look great!

Super job!

That's a great quick idea to have proper spacing with minimal effort.

But I have a burning question. And I don't want to seem rude or anything but... Why did you leave the 'high vis orange plastic barrier material' on once they were cut and planted?

Wouldn't the slit (X) tell you where they should be located (if they failed to sprout)? Does it not interfere a little when removing the dead stalk at the end of the season?

Sorry, I'm just trying to learn and thanks to youtube and their world full of regurgitaters, I am forced to ask the unasked.

Yonut