Bush Beans with Summer Savory & Beetroot
Summer savory is the traditional bean herb, credited with deterring black bean aphid, and beetroot gets along with both.
Season timeline
- Sow beans and savory
- Sow the beetroot
- Pick the beans
- Cut the savory
- Harvest the beetroot
- Clear the bed
Bed layout
Crops in this bed
Step by step
- Sow beans and savoryMay
In warm May soil, sow bean rows and edge them with a band of summer savory.
- Sow the beetrootMay
Sow beetroot along the free edge of the bed at the same time.
- Pick the beansJul–Sep
Pick pods every few days while they still snap cleanly; the plants keep flowering.
- Cut the savoryJul–Sep
Cut shoots for the kitchen all summer, ideally just before the plants flower.
- Harvest the beetrootSep–Oct
Lift the roots by October and twist off the leaves so they store well.
- Clear the bedOct
Cut beans at ground level and leave the nitrogen-rich roots in the soil; compost the rest.
Harvest calendar
| Crop | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bean | Bean: Jul | Bean: Aug | Bean: Sep | |||||||||
| Savory | Savory: Jul | Savory: Aug | Savory: Sep | |||||||||
| Beet | Beet: Sep | Beet: Oct |
The bed over the season
- Bean · Sowing
- Bean · Growing
- Bean · Harvest
- Savory · Sowing
- Savory · Growing
- Savory · Harvest
- Beet · Sowing
- Beet · Growing
- Beet · Harvest
Why this combination works
Summer savory has been sown alongside beans for centuries — its aromatic oils are credited with deterring the black bean aphid, and the two flavours pair in the kitchen as well as they do in the bed. The beans fix nitrogen through their root bacteria and feed the neighbouring rows. Beetroot is an easy-going neighbour that fills the remaining space and appreciates the loosened, nitrogen-enriched soil. All three are sown directly in May, which makes this one of the simplest mixed beds to start.
Tips
Sow beans only into warm soil, they rot in cold, wet ground. Never work among wet bean plants — that spreads rust and other diseases. Hoe shallowly around beetroot, the roots sit close to the surface. Cut savory just before flowering for the strongest aroma.