Mung Bean

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

, Thrips

Thrips

Thysanoptera

Silvery streaking with black specks — the specks are how you tell them from mites.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

, Minute pirate bugs

Minute pirate bugs

Anthocoridae

Two to three millimetres, and both stages hunt — thrips and spider mites, thirty a day.

to keep them in check — plant French MarigoldExcellent, African MarigoldGreat and CosmosGood nearby.

Growing from seed

Direct-sow Mung Bean outdoors about 2 weeks after your last frost, keeping seeds in warm soil (around 20–25 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 7 days. Grow in full sun, spaced about 15 cm apart. Expect to harvest in roughly 90 days.

Keep track of the seeds you own.

Companion Planting

• 
  French Marigold
  

  French MarigoldExcellent pair

  • ❧French Marigold attracts Hoverflies and Lacewings and more, which prey on the Aphids and Thrips that attack Mung Bean
  • ❧Mung Bean fixes nitrogen in the soil that French Marigold feeds on
  • ❧French Marigold suppresses pests that trouble Mung Bean
• 
  Candytuft
  

  CandytuftExcellent pair

  • ❧Candytuft attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Thrips that attack Mung Bean
  • ❧Mung Bean fixes nitrogen in the soil that Candytuft feeds on
  • ❧Mung Bean draws Bees that improve pollination for both
• 
  Fernleaf Lavender
  

  Fernleaf LavenderExcellent pair

  • ❧Fernleaf Lavender attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Thrips that attack Mung Bean
  • ❧Mung Bean fixes nitrogen in the soil that Fernleaf Lavender feeds on
  • ❧Mung Bean draws Bees that improve pollination for both

How to grow Mung Bean

1. Sow2 weeks from frost
2. Germinates7 days
3. Space15 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~90 days

Water: Medium · Height: 90 cm · Soil: Well-draining, average — tolerates poor soil