text: what kind of soil is best for planting beans? is it plain dirt , potting soil with plant food , or potting soi   you'd do better to plant beans in the ground.  they're usually big, vigorous climbers and need some room and stakes or strings or cages or something like that to support their twining growth.  plus, they need some sun, so make sure you have the right growing conditions for them.  as far as dirt, long-release plant food like in potting mix tends to support flower growth, which is not exactly what you want.  you want some leaves, some roots, some flowers (gotta have flowers to get beans)...potting soil is too specific.  i'd get some topsoil in a bag and mix in some rotten manure (if you don't have a manure pile around, beg some from somebody with farm animals or buy a bag pre-rotted.)  it *has* to be rotten--raw manure uses up nitrogen in order to rot, and beans need their nitrogen.  mix the two until the result is black and crumbly.  or, mix the rotted manure in with your soil in the ground.  good rotten manure doesn't stink--it just smells like earth.  plant, mind the pests, and water as needed.  good compost is a pretty good bet, too.  use like rotten manure.