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Peas and beans known as legumes, are extremely popular crops Custom Search Beans
Legumes such as snap, lima and string beans, are more popular than dried beans to the average home gardener. Haricots verts; French for green beans, are a longer thinner variety of bean.Green beans must not be planted until after the ground is thoroughly warm. The succession plantings can than be made every two weeks from that time until seven to eight weeks before frost. In the lower South and Southwest green beans are not well adapted to midsummer heat, but in the extreme South, these legumes can be grown throughout the winter. Green beans are adapted to a wide range of different soils as long as they are well drained, and reasonably fertile. It is a good idea to cover the planted rows or hills with peat, leaf mold, or other mulch so that the soil will not bake . When soil “bakes” or develops a hard crust, it becomes very difficult for the sprouts to break through the crust. When beans are planted in hills, they may be covered with plant protectors. These covers make it possible to plant somewhat earlier.
White Navy, or Pea beans, white or red Kidney beans, and the horticultural types in the legumes family are excellent for dry shell purposes. 
Two types of Lima beans, called Butter Beans in the South, are grown in home gardens. The northern regions are not adapted to the culture of Lima beans. Lima beans require a growing season of about four months with relatively high temperatures; they cannot be planted safely until somewhat later than snap beans. The smaller butter beans mature in a shorter period than the large seeded Lima beans. The use of plant protectors, once again, over the seeds is an aid in obtaining earlier crops. Many of the green beans as well as the snap beans and Lima beans are available in pole and bush varieties which are the great space savers in the small garden. They require some sort of support, because they normally make vines several feet long. A 5 foot fence makes the wonderful support for pole beans but a more substantial support can be prepared by vertical posts about 4 ft. apart and connected horizontally and diagonally with stout twine to make a trellis. Bean plants usually require some type of assistance to get them started on the supports. Never cultivate or handled bean plants when they're wet, doing this is apt to spread disease.
PeasA quick guide to companion planting 
Another branch of the legumes family is English peas also known as garden peas which are a cool weather crop and should be planted early. In the lower South, they are grown in all seasons except summer. In the northern states and at high altitudes, they may be grown from spring until autumn, although in many places summer heat is too severe, so the season is practically limited to spring. Peas grow best in slightly acidic, well drained soil. A few successive plantings can be made at 10 day intervals although the later plantings do not provide as great a yield as the earlier ones. Planting may be resumed as the cool weather of autumn approaches, but the yield is seldom as satisfactory as that from the spring planting.
Sugar Peas /Snow Peas
Sugar or Snow Peas, more members of the legume family,have edible pods and have all the tenderness and fresh qualities of snap beans and the flavor and sweetness of fresh English peas. When young, the pods are cooked like snap beans; the peas are not shelled. At this stage, the pods are stringless, brittle, succulent, and free of fiber or parchment. However, if the pods develop too fast, they're not good to cook like snap beans, but the seeds may still be eaten as shell peas. These legumes are of the best flavor if picked before they have reached full maturity.
Cowpeas / Southern Peas
There are three basic legumes of Southern or Cow Peas: Black-eye, Crowder, and Cream Seed. Each type has a distinctive appearance and flavor and are highly nutritious, tasty and easily grown. They can be eaten either either as fresh shelled green peas, or as dry peas. Southern Peas are very susceptible to cold and should not be planted until soil temperatures are at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Heavy applications of nitrogen fertilizer should not be used for Southern Peas. Fertilize moderately, with a low nitrogen analysis such as 4-12-12. For the effort necessary to grow them, few if any other vegetables will play higher dividends than the southern peas
To view a chart which outline optimum planting temperatures and the number of days for your seeds to germinate, click here.
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