Growing the Winged Bean
30 Mar
The winged bean is a legume whose young pods are a common vegetable sold in Singapore wet markets. The young tender pods are often stir fried with spicy prawn paste (sambal). Sambal kacang botoh (the Malay name of this dish) happens to be one of my favourite vegetable dishes too. This is a reason why I grow this legume as well.
Growing the winged bean in one’s garden to gather fresh, tender pods from the garden that can be picked at the stage which one prefers. Those sold at the wet markets can sometimes be too fibrous. The winged bean is rich in protein.
The young, tender fruits of the winged bean.
The Winged bean is botanically known as Psophocarpus tetragonolobus. The specific name tells us something about how the pods look like - the presence of four frilly ’wings’ that run lengthwise along the pod. The Chinese here call it the ‘four angled bean’ as a result.
This legume, unfortunately, is a sprawling, large growing vine. It needs to grow to a large size (several meters) before it flowers and sets fruit. It is therefore better grown outdoors in a community garden with a large, strong trellis for it to climb. It is hence not suited for pot culture in an apartment garden.
Look at how large and dense a winged bean vine can get!
The winged bean vine can continue to grow for quite a long time and appears to be a perennial in the tropics. Once it starts fruiting, it will produce pods almost continuously. The flowers of the winged bean is quite decorative, in my opinion. They are a light bluish violet in colour – a rare floral colour in the tropics!
The blue flowers of the winged bean.
The seeds of the winged bean seems to be a little difficult to get locally. The best source is to ask for some fresh seeds from a fellow gardener who is growing the vine. I find that the seeds of the winged bean tend to have problems germinating after they have been stored for some time. Because the seed coat is rather thick, the seeds should be soaked in water overnight to promote germination.
Wilson Wong
Hi I live in Mandurah Western Australia and I had a failure in growing Winged Beans the first lot I put straight into a seed box and nothing happened, I went onto the net and started to read more about them, I came up with lots of water and heat, so what I did is to put 4 seeds into a pot watered them and then put a clear plastic bag over them I used a cut down coat hanger into the pot so the poly bag so the bag looked like a tent. This created the humidity and kept the soil moist. I now have 4 seedlings coming up. The temp got up to 45degrees in the bag. Next week I will bring them out and drop the temp so it will not be such a shock for them when I plant them in the vegie patch.
I hope that it might help others that want to grow them the ambient temp at the moment is about 25 degrees.
Yours Ric Corbin
What’s the progress with those Winged beans please?
Hi Wilson,
I’m still trying to grow Winged Beans in Zone 6 (U.S.A.). I was successful germinating them last March. I planted the seeds in a growing media outdoor in a location receiving morning sunlight under a clear plastic covering. The problem is that when I transplanted them in pots for their permanent location, slugs and other garden pests ate the tender stems. so far I have 3 plants remaining uneaten by the bugs. I hope they survive. It is probably better if I sow the seeds in a bigger pot and transplant them outside when the stems are hardened where pests cannot chew the whole plant; but then I suspect that the plant is very sensitive to root disturbance during transplantation that it may not survive. Well, I still have to try anyway. I will appreciate further input from you and everyone who had successfully grown Winged Beans in Zone 6 (U.S.A).
Hi Wilson,
So far my Winged Beans is still surviving and it is about 3 inches tall now. I hope it lives to bear fruit in the Fall. I know that it is not suited for container garden but I have to still try.
Hi Wilson,
My Winged Beans (3 plants in a pot) is climbing now. I don’t see any signs of flowering yet–may be in the beginning of fall. I noticed in your photo of winged Bean that it has elongated leaves. The leaves of Winged Beans that I remember from childhood and the ones I have now, have short leaves looking exactly like the leaves of Bush Beans.
Happy gardening.
Hi,
Update on potted Winged Beans:
So far my potted winged beans is healthy and surviving. It Climbed up a 4ft x 8ft trellis and onto a nearby Pyracantha. It is flowering now and I’m watching for fruits to show when the flowers fall off. I’m happy that this plant is surviving a hot, humid and part shade environment.
Happy gardening,
Zoe
hi!
i was wondering why my plant won’t flower. it’s almost 5 months olds now, creeping and crawling on the fence. my grandma told me to snip off the leaves (2 out of the 3). did that, still no flower. any suggestions?
thanks!
angie
Some winged beans are daylight sensitive meaning if the days are long they will not bloom. I purchased the ones that are not daylight sensitive and they are blooming and producing beans.
Frederick Dalton
exceuse me. may i know what germination type of winged bean? is it epigeal or hypogeal? thank you very much.
I too have a winged bean plant about 15 feet high [growing all over an orange tree] and reaching for the sky—no blossoms and no beans.
And I have no idea what epigeal or hypogeal means
Thanks
Mike
So, winged bean has two kinds of cytotype. One is diploid, which can give birth for pod. The other is triploid, which can not give birth for pod and pass generation by the tubers.
Hi, I would like to get some Winged Bean seeds. I am in the Goldfields. Thanks much!
I just recently found out that winged beans are available in seed form and i immediately got it. Now that i have it in hand, im not sure what time of the year is best to grow winged beans. What is the best time to grow them in zone 8b, Northern California.
Thank you
Hi,
I have my winged beans growing on a recycled water bottle which I cut half way just enough to create a hinge. I loosen the lid so excess water would flow out. I use this top half of the bottle as the seed pot and the bottom half to cover the seed and keep moisture in as well as to keep slugs and other pests from devouring the young seedling. After filling the top half of the bottle with potting soil and putting the seeds in, I bury it onto the garden bed; I then water the seeds and pull the other half of the bottle down using a scotch tape to fasten it shut. I water the seeds every time the soil gets dry. I make sure that the seeds are in a sunny location. Mine is growing beautifully under this protected environment. When the seedlings outgrow the small container, I would have to transfer it to a bigger pot. Based on my experience from last year, I will have to wait until the stems are hard enough when slugs and other insects can no longer chew on them easily, before I transplant them in the ground. I lost most of the seedlings I grew last year to slugs and other insects so I hope this will not happen this year. Live and learn. I’m in zone 6 so I hope this helps those who are trying to grow winged beans in this cold climate.
In planting Winged Beans, you cannot wait too late in the season, because it takes a long time for it to mature and bear pods.
It is may 3, 2010 in American Samoa. It is the fall with themperatures in the mid 80′s and lows about 72 degrees F. My wing beans have been flowering for about 3 weeks now but no fruits have set. all the flowers fall off w/o any pods being formed. I am using pig manure compost that is rich in phosphorus and potassium. I complement that with 10-20-20 commercial fertilizer. What is my problem? Why don’t the pods set??
Just an update on my May 4, 2010 comment about my wing beans flowering but not setting fruit. Anyway, about a month later, beginning in June (our tropical winter, with shorter days) the beans have been producing really, really well. I have two plants and every other day, I harvest – 15 – 20 pods. I have some kentucky wonder pole beans that flower and set pods only during our winter. The Kentucky Wonder snap beans and winged beans are growing next to each other, but the winged beans out produces the snap beans. I’m sold on this “new” bean.
Hi,
I’m not a gardening expert but what I tried with my plants when they are not performing well is to use agricultural lime. I’ve read that it helps the plants abasorve the necessary minerals from the fertilizer.
My winged beans sprouted without a problem but after I transplanted them in a bigger pot they seem to be struggling.
Good luck with your winged beans.
It thrives in the tropics. We have one in the school garden that refuses to die. It has survived harsh weather – weeks of no rain, heavy downpours, water logged soil and neglect. It continues to flower and produce pods. Amazing plant!