Sun

• All beans require full sun. Brief periods of shade won't harm the plant as long as it receives at least six hours of sun during the day. Beans grown with less sun exposure than this will get leggy, produce few flowers and be more likely to succumb to disease.
  
  

Soil

• Beans need to be planted in well-drained loamy soil. Heavy soil stays too wet and can cause bean plants to rot, whereas sandy soil won't retain the nutrients your plants need. Avoid planting your beans too early in the season because the soil also needs to be warm for the beans to sprout and grow well. Also, beans prefer a neutral soil pH. If your soil is too acid or too alkaline, your beans will have difficulty taking in the right nutrients.
  
  

Water

• Bean seeds left in wet soil will rot and never sprout. Wet soil also increases the likelihood of diseases such as rot or mildew and pests like slugs. During their growth, beans require weekly watering. If the plant isn't watered regularly, it will put more energy into root development to find water deeper in the soil. This effort takes energy from your plant's production of leaves, flowers and fruit. When your bean plant is blooming, don't let the soil dry out or the blooms will fall off before being pollinated.
  
  

Nutrients

• Beans have special bacteria at their roots that, through a symbiotic relationship with the bean, provide nitrogen to the plant. Therefore, the fertilizer you choose for your beans should be very low in nitrogen. Feeding the bean extra nitrogen will cause it to produce a bounty of foliage, but no flowers. For optimal growth, fertilize the soil with a balanced fertilizer about a week before planting the seeds. Then, feed the plants once when they are about a foot tall with a low-nitrogen fertilizer.