How to Grow Pinto Beans for Drying

Pinto beans are one of the easiest dry beans to grow at home. Sow them in warm soil after your last frost, give them full sun and modest water, then stop watering once the pods start to yellow and let the plants dry the beans for you right on the vine. About 85 to 100 days after sowing, the pods turn papery and the beans rattle inside, ready to thresh and store for a year or more. The only real tricks are choosing a variety suited to your season, keeping late-summer rain off the drying pods, and drying the beans thoroughly before storage. Here is the full process, from seed to jar.

Part of our Vegetable Gardening & Raised Beds guide →

In this guide

1. Pinto Bean Basics
2. When to Plant Pinto Beans
3. Site and Soil
4. How to Plant Pinto Beans
5. Support for Semi-Vining Pintos
6. Growing Season Care
7. Pests and Diseases
8. Drying Pinto Beans on the Vine
9. Harvesting and Threshing
10. Drying and Storing for the Pantry
11. Growing Pinto Beans in Containers
12. Troubleshooting
13. Frequently Asked Questions

Pinto Bean Basics

Pinto beans are a type of common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, the same species as green beans, black beans and kidney beans. The difference is in how you harvest them. Green beans are picked young for their tender pods; pinto beans are left on the plant until the seeds mature and dry. The beige seeds splashed with reddish-brown give the bean its name, which comes from the Spanish word for “painted.” The speckles fade to an even brown when cooked.

Pinto plants come in two main habits. Bush types grow 18 to 24 inches tall and stand on their own. Semi-vining (half-runner) types send out short runners of 2 to 4 feet that sprawl unless you give them something to climb. Seed catalogs list many named pintos; some are bred for disease resistance or an upright habit for easier harvest. If you are short on season, look for the earliest-maturing variety you can find. For a refresher on growth habits and when each makes sense, see bush beans vs pole beans.

When to Plant Pinto Beans

Beans are frost-tender and rot in cold, wet soil, so do not rush. Plant after your last spring frost, when soil at planting depth is at least 60°F. Germination is faster and more reliable around 70 to 80°F. Count backward from your first fall frost: you need roughly 85 to 100 frost-free days for most pintos to reach the dry stage, plus a little cushion for drying weather.

Region (USDA zones)	Typical sowing window	Notes
Zones 3–4	Early June	Choose the earliest variety; season is tight
Zones 5–6	Mid-May to early June	Plant as soon as soil warms for dry weather at harvest
Zones 7–8	Late April to May	Avoid flowering in peak heat above about 90°F
Zones 9–10	March to April, or late summer for fall	Time harvest for the dry season if possible

Very high heat during flowering can cause blossoms to drop, so in hot climates aim for flowering before or after the hottest weeks. Our general guide to growing beans has more on timing by region.

Site and Soil

• Sun: full sun, at least 6 to 8 hours of direct light.
• Soil: loose, well-drained loam with a pH of about 6.0 to 7.0. Heavy clay that stays wet invites root rot; build a raised bed or work in compost if your soil drains slowly.
• Fertility: beans fix much of their own nitrogen with the help of soil bacteria. Too much nitrogen gives lush leaves and fewer pods. Work in an inch or two of compost and skip high-nitrogen fertilizer.
• Rotation: avoid planting beans where beans or peas grew in the last two to three years to reduce disease buildup.

If beans have never grown in your garden, coat the seed with a garden legume inoculant (rhizobium bacteria) just before planting. It is inexpensive and helps the plants form nitrogen-fixing nodules on their roots.

How to Plant Pinto Beans

Direct sow; beans resent transplanting. Do not soak seed for long before planting, since overly soaked seeds can crack and rot.

• Depth: 1 to 1.5 inches; slightly deeper in sandy soil.
• Spacing in rows: sow seeds 2 to 3 inches apart and thin to 4 to 6 inches, in rows 18 to 30 inches apart. Semi-vining types appreciate the wider end.
• Wide beds: sow in a grid 6 inches apart each way.
• Water: water well after planting, then keep the soil lightly moist, not soggy, until seedlings emerge in about 7 to 14 days.

Because dry beans yield less by volume than fresh green beans, plan a larger planting than you would for snap beans if you want meaningful pantry stores. Many gardeners devote a full bed or several long rows to dry beans.

Support for Semi-Vining Pintos

Bush pintos need no support. Semi-vining types will sprawl across the ground and into neighboring rows, and pods that lie on wet soil are more prone to rot and mold. A simple support keeps them upright and makes harvest easier: a 3- to 4-foot length of livestock panel, a row of stakes with twine run along each side, or a low section of netting on T-posts. Set it at planting so you do not damage roots later. For options, see our picks for the best garden trellises; if you are growing true pole beans alongside, our guide to trellising pole beans covers taller structures.

Growing Season Care

Watering

Give about 1 inch of water per week from rain or irrigation, more in sandy soil and hot weather. Consistent moisture matters most during flowering and pod fill; drought then causes blossom drop and small seeds. Water at the base with a soaker hose or drip line in the morning so leaves dry quickly, which helps prevent disease.

Mulch and weeding

Bean roots are shallow, so hoe carefully or pull weeds by hand. Once the soil is warm, a 2-inch layer of straw or shredded leaves holds moisture and keeps pods off the soil.

Stay out when it is wet

Avoid working among bean plants when the foliage is wet. Moving through wet plants spreads bacterial blights and other diseases from plant to plant.

Pests and Diseases

• Mexican bean beetle: copper-colored ladybug lookalikes whose spiny yellow larvae skeletonize leaves. Hand-pick adults and larvae and crush yellow egg clusters on leaf undersides.
• Bean leaf beetle: chews round holes in leaves and can feed on pods. Floating row cover on young plants helps; remove it at flowering.
• Aphids: knock off with a strong spray of water or use insecticidal soap according to the label.
• Root rots: caused by cold, wet soil. Plant into warm soil and improve drainage.
• White mold and rusts: encouraged by dense, humid canopies. Wider spacing, morning watering and rotation help.
• Bean common mosaic virus: mottled, puckered leaves. Buy fresh certified seed and choose resistant varieties when available.

If leaves turn pale or yellow, see why bean leaves turn yellow for causes from overwatering to nutrient issues.

Drying Pinto Beans on the Vine

This is the part that makes dry beans different. Once most pods are full and beginning to turn from green to yellow, cut back watering sharply. The plants will begin to drop leaves, and the pods will change from yellow to tan and finally to a dry, papery, brittle shell. Shake a pod: when the beans rattle, they are close.

The ideal is to let the beans dry fully on standing plants in dry, sunny fall weather. If a long rainy spell is forecast once pods are mostly dry, or if frost threatens, do not leave them out to mold. Pull the whole plants and hang them upside down in a garage, shed or covered porch with good airflow, or spread them on a tarp under cover, until the pods finish drying. Beans in pods that were full-sized and starting to yellow will still mature this way.

Harvesting and Threshing

Test a few beans: a fully dry pinto is hard and glossy, and you cannot dent it with a fingernail. If a fingernail leaves a mark, give them more drying time.

• Small harvests: shell pods by hand while watching TV. Dry pods split easily.
• Larger harvests: put dry pods or whole plants in a pillowcase or feed sack and stomp on it or beat it against a clean surface, then pour out the contents.
• Winnowing: pour the beans and chaff slowly from one bucket to another in front of a box fan or a light breeze; the chaff blows away and the beans fall.
• Sorting: pick out shriveled, moldy, discolored or insect-damaged beans.

Drying and Storing for the Pantry

Even beans that seem dry can hold enough moisture to mold in a sealed jar. Spread shelled beans in a single layer on screens or trays indoors for one to two more weeks, stirring occasionally. A common home test is to tap a bean with a hammer: a properly dry bean shatters rather than squashing.

Bean weevils can hide inside seeds as eggs or larvae and emerge in storage. To prevent that, freeze dried beans in a sealed bag for several days before storing. Then store them in airtight glass jars or food-safe buckets in a cool, dark, dry place. Properly dried pintos keep for a year or more, though older beans take longer to cook. Save a jar of your best, largest beans as next year’s seed; pinto beans are self-pollinating and usually come true from saved seed.

Growing Pinto Beans in Containers

Bush pintos will grow in containers at least 12 inches deep and wide, about three to four plants per 5-gallon pot. Yields from containers are small for dry beans, so containers are better for a fun experiment or a kids’ project than for filling the pantry. Use a quality potting mix and water more often, since pots dry quickly.

Troubleshooting

• Poor germination: soil too cold or wet, or seed too old. Wait for warmer soil and use fresh seed.
• Lots of leaves, few pods: too much nitrogen, or heat or drought during flowering. See why beans are not producing.
• Moldy pods: rain during drying or pods touching wet soil. Support semi-vining plants and pull plants to dry under cover if rain is forecast.
• Beans shriveled or small: drought during pod fill or plants pulled too early.

For more crops to fill your rotation, browse our vegetable gardening guide.