Psophocarpus tetragonolobus
The primary time I encountered winged beans, I used to be on a household journey to Hawaii and we’d walked previous a market stall stuffed with greens and fruits.
As I pursued the hampers stuffed with rambutan, starfruit, lychee, and dragon fruit, I encountered a few of the strangest beans I’d ever seen.
At first I didn’t even notice they had been beans, with their odd ruffled edges making them nearly appear to be some kind of big caterpillar.
We hyperlink to distributors that will help you discover related merchandise. When you purchase from certainly one of our hyperlinks, we might earn a fee.
Winged beans (Psyphocarpus tetragonolobus) are tropical, perennial legumes. All components of the plant are edible, from the tuberous roots to the flowers.
The winged beans are notable for his or her distinctive form – 4 longitudinal ridges or “wings” run alongside the pods, with ruffled edges.
When you dwell in USDA Rising Zones 10 to 12, you may develop winged beans as perennials. In any other case, plan to develop them as annuals.
Whether or not you’re new to winged beans otherwise you’re fortunate sufficient to have grown up with these leguminous wonders, this information will cowl find out how to domesticate them in your personal backyard.
Right here’s what’s forward:
P. tetragonolobus is native to Papua New Guinea and extensively cultivated in tropical areas of Southeast Asia.
They’re also called goa beans, four-angled beans, dragon beans, or shikaku mame in Japan.
P. tetragonolobus is typically confused with the asparagus pea aka winged pea, Tetragonolobus purpureus – however this species has crimson as a substitute of blue flowers, and solely the cooked pods could be consumed.
These vining vegetation produce quite a lot of meals in a small footprint, rising as much as 15 toes lengthy and about two to a few toes large.
These grown as annuals are unlikely to realize these dimensions throughout one rising season.
The winged bean plant as a complete packs fairly the dietary punch.
The underground tubers resemble potatoes and comprise 20 p.c protein by weight. The seeds have 35 p.c protein and are full of carbohydrates, nutritional vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, C, A, and E.
Previous to the pods forming, pale blue flowers develop within the spring. These edible flowers make a tasty addition to salads.
Fast Look
Widespread title(s): Winged beans; dragon, goa, four-angled beans; shikaku mame
Plant kind: Perennial vine
Hardiness (USDA Zone): 10-12 (perennials)
Native to: Asia
Bloom time / season: Spring, summer season
Publicity: Full solar
Soil kind: Unfastened, humus-rich, properly draining
Soil pH: 6.0-7.5, barely acidic to impartial
Time to maturity: As much as 180 days
Spacing: 3 toes
Planting depth: 1 inch (seeds)
Mature dimension: 2-3 toes large x as much as 15 toes excessive
Water Wants: Reasonable
Taxonomy
Order: Fabales
Household: Fabaceae
Genus: Psophocarpus
Species: Tetragonolobus
After the flowers open, they’re pollinated by bees, butterflies, and flies, and the pods begin to kind.
It solely takes about three weeks for the winged bean pods to achieve their final size of as much as a foot after which a number of extra weeks to be prepared for harvesting.
The species is day-length delicate and will need to have longer days than nights for no less than every week or two earlier than they may flower.
I dwell close to the forty fifth parallel and meaning the times are lengthy sufficient round mid-March, but it surely’s too chilly at the moment for the vegetation to be outdoors.
You’ll find winged bean cultivars which might be day-length impartial or short-day if day size is a matter for you.
The curious-looking pods begin out inexperienced however as they mature they are often inexperienced, cream, pink, or purple with cream, inexperienced, white, tan, or brown beans inside.
The leaves are sometimes inexperienced, however they’ll even have some purple shading, and these could be ready a bit like spinach.
We don’t know the place wild winged beans originated. The progenitor has been misplaced to time and could also be extinct. It’s doable that this species is a results of crossbreeding totally different wild legumes.
Find out how to Sow
As a result of these vegetation want such an extended rising season – as much as 180 days for mature seeds – many gardeners decide to begin seeds indoors after which transfer them out as quickly because the climate warms up.
You can even purchase nursery begins, although they’re laborious to seek out in cooler areas.
Immature, inexperienced pods are sometimes prepared between 75 and 110 days from planting.
For a lot of gardeners, myself included, we’ll solely have sufficient time for the pods to mature and never the seeds, however that’s tremendous! You’ll nonetheless have a lot of pods, leaves, flowers, and stems to eat.
From Seed
You can begin your seeds 12 weeks forward of transplanting. You’ll want to determine when soil temperatures might be persistently above 60°F, as you may’t transplant earlier than that.
- Soak the seeds for twenty-four hours after which gently nick them with a knife earlier than sowing.
- Fill four-inch containers with well-draining seed beginning medium and moisten it.
- Sow seeds an inch deep, one in every container.
- Set the pots on a heating mat, to maintain the soil persistently between 75 and 85°F.
- Preserve the soil evenly moist however not waterlogged.
- After germination, transfer the rising pots into an space the place the seedlings will obtain no less than six hours of direct daylight per day or present supplemental lighting.
- When the seedlings are about six to eight inches tall, pinch the rising tricks to encourage bushier development and strong root improvement.
Plan to transplant when soil temperatures are reliably over 60°F and you should definitely harden them off first.
Transplanting
To place seedlings into the bottom, step one is to work the soil just a little to loosen it up. Amend with some well-rotted compost to about six inches deep.
Then dig a gap the dimensions of the container the transplant is at the moment rising in.
Take away the plant from its pot, set it within the gap and backfill with soil.
Agency the soil up across the base of the plant and water the soil properly. If the soil settles, add a bit extra.
Area the vegetation about three toes aside however inside six inches of a assist construction.
Find out how to Develop
A part of what makes these vegetation so implausible is that they’re tremendous adaptable.
Gentle
Like many legumes, these tropical vines want a full solar location, with six or extra hours of direct sunshine per day.
When you dwell in a very popular area, you can provide younger vegetation a little bit of shade from sturdy afternoon solar, however as soon as established they are going to be tremendous.
Soil
Winged beans are fairly pleased in common soils, offered it’s well-draining.
They’ll’t deal with waterlogged, heavy clay, with standing water so in case your backyard is predominantly clay, think about rising in a raised mattress.
In any other case, you may work in some compost to the bottom earlier than planting to extend water retention and enhance drainage.
Temperature
These tropical vegetation prefer it sizzling! The best rising temperature is round 75°F and above, so that you don’t need to plant too early.
If temperatures drop beneath about 58°F, development stops utterly.
If you have to make sure that the temperatures are heat sufficient, you may develop them towards a south-facing brick wall as a result of the brick will assist to offer extra warmth.
Water
Preserve the soil persistently moist whereas the vines have gotten established and after they flower, permit the highest one or two inches to dry out between waterings.
When they’re established, winged beans are drought-tolerant.
Weeding
The vines could be gradual to begin, so you have to be on weed patrol. It’s simple for weeds to overhaul the younger seedlings.
Because the temperatures warmth up, the vines develop extra rapidly and may outcompete weeds.
I wish to put an inch or two of straw mulch or leaf litter throughout the vegetation to assist retain water and maintain weeds away.
Help
The vegetation will need to have one thing to climb up.
You might tie a string to horizontal poles, use cattle fencing, purchase bean trellises, or anything that may assist the vines as they develop.
Fertilizing
Feed your vegetation with a balanced meals with an NPK round 10-10-10 or 12-12-12.
Higher but, take a look at your soil earlier than feeding after which feed your soil in accordance with the outcomes of the soil take a look at.
I like to make use of Southern Ag’s all goal granular fertilizer, which has an NPK ratio of 10-10-10. Feed when the plant begins to flower and once more one month later.
Southern Ag All Objective Granular Fertilizer
You’ll find Southern Ag All Objective Granular Fertilizer accessible through Amazon.
Pruning
The vines seize onto issues by twining, so that they’ll spin their manner up something they’ll attain.
You’ll discover them twirling their manner up fence poles, or twisting up close by bushes or shrubs. They’ll even twine their manner up different vegetation in your backyard like tomatoes or corn stalks.
Prune any vines rising the place you don’t need them.
If the plant turns into too bushy on high, it may possibly shade the inside and decrease vines and so they received’t produce flowers and pods.
Prune out a few of the vines if the plant needs to be flowering however isn’t. Or take away vines if the entire thing is turning into unruly.
You may take off quite a lot of the foliage and the plant might be tremendous. Don’t be delicate about this, simply get in there with some pruners and go to city.
Cultivars to Choose
Principally you’ll simply discover generic winged bean seeds on the market, although there are a selection of cultivars accessible.
If you want to develop the species plant, discover seeds accessible in quite a lot of packet sizes at True Leaf Market.
If daytime are a limiting issue for you, you’ll need to search out one of many cultivars that aren’t daylight dependent.
All the following are worthwhile choices:
Native Inexperienced
‘Native Inexperienced’ is a short-day cultivar, which has made it common as a winter season crop in locations like Guam.
It should flower and produce when the times are shorter than 12 hours. The ensuing vegetation are strong and high-yielding.
Singha
‘Singha’ is an early flowering cultivar that’s day-neutral. Meaning an early harvest no matter what the daytime are doing in your area.
Urizan Japanese
That is my favourite cultivar as a result of it’s dependable and matures early, although it’d simply be as a result of it’s the one cultivar accessible in my area.
I obtained my seeds from a pal, however yow will discover this heirloom day-neutral cultivar at a number of uncommon seed or plant retailers.
Pests and Illness
Because the total plant is edible, it’s interesting to herbivores like deer and rabbits. Insect infestations frequent within the veggie backyard may even assault winged beans.
Listed here are the principle pests and illnesses to have an effect on these vegetation:
Pests
As with most greens, aphids could be a difficulty. Specifically, the black bean aphid (Aphis craccivora) can’t get sufficient of winged beans.
Normally, an infestation isn’t an enormous deal except the plant is extraordinarily younger.
Be taught extra about coping with aphids right here.
In tropical areas, the winged bean blotch miner (Leucoptera sophocarpella), bean pod borer, (Maruca vitrata), and cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera Mylabris afzelii, and M. pustulat) can injury the foliage and flowers.
When you’re rising in North America, it’s solely the second two you have to fear about.
Root-knot nematodes also can infect the vegetation, particularly Meloidogyne arenaria, M. incognita, and M. javanica. Be taught extra about these microscopic pests right here.
Illness
Winged beans are typically vigorous vegetation and it’s not typically you’ll should take care of a illness.
Particularly in the event you maintain them properly spaced and pruned in the event that they begin to change into overgrown.
Collar Rot
Collar rot is a illness brought on by quite a few fungi, together with species within the Fusarium, Rhizoctonia, and Macrophomina genera. An infection causes rot on the base of the plant, ultimately killing all of the vines.
If this rot extends by way of the bottom, turning it mushy and black, it’ll kill all the vines.
When the illness is current, it’s laborious to regulate, however you would possibly have the ability to cease it by making use of a robust biofungicide that accommodates hydrogen peroxide or Bacillus subtilis.
Arbico Organics carries an efficient product known as Stop, which accommodates the helpful bacterium B. subtilis.
It’s greatest as a preventative however it may possibly gradual or cease the development of the illness.
False Rust
False rust or orange gall is frequent in crops grown in tropical areas, but it surely has solely been recognized as shifting into subtropical areas as of 2024.
When you’re rising outdoors of a tropical area, you in all probability don’t must even take into consideration this downside.
This illness is brought on by the fungus Synchytrium psophocarpi and reveals up as orange pustules on leaves, stems, pods, and flowers.
It might additionally trigger leaf distortion and a discount in pod dimension and high quality.
The second you see any pustules forming, which begin out inexperienced earlier than turning into orange, begin treating with a broad-spectrum fungicide like mancozeb.
Bonide Mancozeb Flowable with Zinc
Seize a 16-ounce bottle of Bonide Mancozeb Flowable with Zinc at Amazon and apply in accordance with the producer’s instructions.
When you dwell in a subtropical area, report the an infection to your native extension workplace to allow them to doc its presence.
Powdery Mildew
Powdery mildew (brought on by the fungus Erysiphe cichoracearum) is quite common within the vegetable backyard.
It causes white powdery coating on the leaves. Our information to powdery mildew has extra particulars.
Harvesting
Because the vines develop, be at liberty to pluck off leaves right here and there to make use of as you’ll spinach.
If you wish to eat the pods reasonably than the beans, wait till they attain their full size, which ought to occur a number of weeks after flowering, and snip them off the vine.
In case you have an extended sufficient rising season, you may let the pods mature on the vine. They may flip brown and ultimately cut up.
At that time, you may take away the seeds and dry or prepare dinner them contemporary.
The tubers want a number of years to change into giant sufficient to reap, so solely these rising these vegetation as perennials will get to take pleasure in them!
Preserving
The leaves, immature pods, and flowers needs to be eaten inside a number of days of harvesting.
Freshly harvested pods will maintain for as much as every week wrapped in a cotton or paper towel in a plastic bag within the fridge.
The seeds or beans can be dried by inserting them in a single layer on a baking tray or display screen and permitting them to take a seat till they change into dry and brittle.
Rotate or stir the beans daily to make sure even drying. You can even dry them in a dehydrator on a low setting.
As soon as they’re dry, you may put them in a fabric bag and retailer them in a cool, dry place.
Cooking Concepts
Use the flowers contemporary to high salads and as garnishes. The leaves are additionally excellent in salads, or strive them on sandwiches or on pasta.
The stems could be eaten uncooked, however chop them up and saute them with some butter, garlic, and salt for an actual deal with.
You may eat the tubers both uncooked or cooked. When you eat them uncooked, slice thinly for salads, or use them like potatoes in the event you resolve to prepare dinner them.
The pods can be utilized similar to any edible pod bean. They’re a traditional choice in stir fries, in fact. You may saute them in garlic, butter, and crimson pepper flakes.
Yum tua pu is a tasty Thai salad made with roasted peanuts, coconut flakes, shallots, mint, and boiled eggs with a spicy Thai dressing. It’s phenomenal.
You may eat the pods after they’re immature or allow them to mature a bit, although to not the purpose the place the beans inside are plump and begin to harden.
The seeds or beans should be cooked earlier than consuming. You may roast them, dry and grind them up into flour, flip them into milk, or extract the oil.
Talking of, the oil extracted from winged beans is even higher than soybean oil as a result of it’s extra thermally secure and is excessive in antioxidants.
This Bean Has Wings
Winged beans are a superb selection for gardeners in tropical or subtropical climates. They’re a bit extra of a problem to domesticate in additional northern areas, however it may be completed.
It’s uncommon that you just discover a plant that may present edible flowers, leafy greens, pods, beans, and tubers. P. tetragonolobus has all of it.
Are you rising winged beans? I can’t wait to listen to the way you’re going to make use of your harvest. Tell us within the feedback part beneath!
And for extra details about rising beans in your backyard, learn these guides subsequent: