Weather may cause predicament for Georgia green beans

Green beans rely on warm weather which is why Georgia and North Carolina are great states for growing. Several circumstances can deter or even destroy the crop before harvesting begins. “Cold weather, heavy rainfall or hurricanes can over water the beans,” states Jack Johnson Jr. of Western Carolina Produce, “Sometimes we get as much as four to five inches of rain in Georgia. We’ve lost half our crop before due to floods.”

The seeds for this season’s green bean crop have already been sowed in Georgia and North Carolina. While acreage has not changed, Western Carolina Produce continues to export throughout the Midwest United States and towards the East Coast. “The only other country we export to is Canada, but we cover most of the States including California and Texas.”

Other states finished harvesting their green bean crop this year before the first frost could destroy the plants. “New York, New Jersey, and Virginia are some of the States we compete with, but they’re finished for the year,” explains Johnson, “Tennessee is just about to harvest, but a cold front is supposed to hit, so I don’t know how well they’ll fair.”