Beans are among the most productive vegetables people can grow. They are among the easiest, as well.

Beans come in many varieties: snap green beans, yellow beans, beans grown to be shelled for their seed, and both bush and pole beans.

They aren’t as hardy as peas, which can be planted in mid-April, but not as tender as squash, which has to wait until all danger of frost is past.

Bush snap beans are the easiest and among the most productive. Use a hoe to create a trench about two inches deep. Plant the bean seeds about six inches apart in the trench, and cover with soil. Just before planting, fertilize with a balanced fertilizer. Fertilization during the season is usually not needed.

Watering immediately after planting helps, and water whenever the soil dries out.

Pick the snap beans before seeds begin to develop because they are tender and tastiest then. Early picking also extends the harvest time on the bushes to up to a month.

Although about now is a good time for the first planting, plant new rows every three weeks or so, and guarantee tender beans to pick throughout the summer.