Have you ever wondered if you can grow beans from a packet of dried beans from the grocery store? The answer is yes, you can! We are showing you how to grow beans easily at home or in the classroom using a packet of Hurst’s HamBeens 15 Bean Soup.
This article is sponsored by Hurst Beans & contains affiliate links.
Can you grow beans from dried store-bought beans?
My whole family loves our 15-Bean and Turkey Slow Cooker Soup recipe. Next time, before you soak the dried beans, grab a handful of beans to plant with your kids for a fun bean growing project at home.
My daughter and I did this project together and have enjoyed watching our beans sprout and grow. Follow along as we show you how we grew bean shoots from store bought dried beans.
This is what you will need to grow beans at home.
Supplies needed to Grow Beans
We purchased a window greenhouse seed starter kit from our local hardware store that came with a plastic tray for starting seeds. However, I decided to remove that and replace it with biodegradable peat pots. This makes it easier to transplant the bean shoots as they outgrow the dome into larger pots.
You simply plant the peat pots directly into the soil without trying to remove the plant from the plastic containers which can become messy.
Instructions to Grow Beans
Step 1
Use scissors to cut each individual peat pot from the others.
Separate the individual peat pots.
This way if some beans sprout quicker than others and outgrow the dome you can transplant them easily without disturbing the others.
Step 2
Put a single bean into the center of each pot and push it under the soil just a little with your finger.
Create space for your bean & then cover with soil.
Step 3
Cover the beans with soil.
Step 4
Spray each of the peat pots with water making sure that the soil is damp, but not drowning.
Water your planted beans with a spray bottle.
Beans that Grow Well at Home
These are the dried beans that we planted (in order left to right). We planted two of each so you can see from the photos how quickly some of the beans have grown compared to others.
- Northern Beans
- Pinto Beans
- Large Lima Beans
- Garbanzo Beans
- Cranberry Beans
- Black Beans
- Pink Beans
- Kidney Beans
Note: The only varieties in the package that won’t sprout are the green and yellow split peas.
Find a good growing spot in a window.
Step 5
Put the dome over your tray and place it in front of a window that gets natural light and sun. The best spot for ours is on our bedroom windowsill that gets afternoon sunlight.
Timeline of dried beans growing
The dried beans were planted on January 20th and this is how our beans grew over time.
How our beans were growing after 16 days.
16 days after planting
By February the 5th we were beginning to finally see some movement.
How our beans were growing after 19 days.
19 days after planting
On February the 8th, we woke up to our first shoot from:
- one of the lima beans
- tiny sprouts starting to form from the Northern beans
- tiny sprouts starting to form from the garbanzo beans
How our beans were growing after 23 days.
23 days after planting
By the morning of February 12th we noticed so much more movement when we checked on the sprouts.
How our beans were growing after 26 days.
26 days after planting
February 15th some of our bean shoots are now touching the top of the dome. We’ve been through an ice and snow storm so the window is cold, but we have a heating vent underneath which I guess is keeping the plants warm.
Our bean sprouts have turned into bean plants!
Next Step In Growing Beans
The bean plants are now ready to transplant into larger pots just as soon as this winter weather passes.
1. Transplanting Bean Sprouts
All of these beans grew well and are ready to be transferred to a larger pot for additional growth:
- Northern Bean plants
- Pinto Bean plants
- Lima Bean plants
- Garbanzo Bean plants
- Cranberry Bean plants
- Black Bean plants
- Pink Bean plants
- Kidney Bean plants
2. Water, Sunlight & Potentially Support
Since most beans grow as vines, it may become important to give them external support as they grow. Continue with water, sunlight and add stakes as needed to support your bean vines.
Related: Check out our bean pole tent idea perfect for your garden.
WHERE TO BUY HURST BEANS
If you are looking to find Hurst’s 15 BEAN SOUP locally to try your own planting project (and our delicious soup recipe), check out the store locator on hurstbeans.com.
More Gardening Fun from Kids Activities Blog
How did your beans grow? Were you surprised how easily store bought beans could grow?
