Per the crop database: fast growing, can sprout for fresh eating, needs warm weather. Mung bean (Vigna radiata) is strongly self-pollinating, so isolation for pure seed is minimal, and although it shares its genus with cowpea and adzuki bean, all three are separate species that genuinely do not cross-pollinate with each other. Like other legumes, it fixes its own nitrogen as it grows.
Water need
Water matters most while pods are filling out -- even moisture through that stage has the biggest single effect on final yield.
Calories at a glance
3,470 kcal/kg dried -- in the same league as wheat and the site's other dried pulses (scale is log-based across all 55 crops in the calculator).
Temperature Range by Month
Month on the bottom, temperature up the side. The pale green background is what the plant can survive at all -- fatal above or below it, labelled directly on the chart where that applies to your zone. The coral band is its ideal range, and only fades in during the months this zone would actually have the crop in the ground -- reusing the exact same sowing/harvesting data as the calendar further down the page. The blue line is real monthly climate data (not a modelled estimate) for a representative rural/agricultural location in this zone -- a small farming town or agricultural research station rather than a major city, to avoid the warmer bias city weather stations have. For the actual verdict on how well this crop does in your zone, see the badge at the top of the page -- that's based on the site's own researched yield figures, not this chart.
Quick Start: Sowing to Storage
- Sow direct once soil is warm. Sow direct once the soil has genuinely warmed up -- mung bean is frost-tender and germinates poorly in cold, wet ground.
- Let its fast growth work in your favour. Mung bean is genuinely fast-growing, so a late start still often has time to mature a crop before the season ends.
- Water evenly while pods are filling. Water matters most while pods are filling out -- even moisture here has the biggest effect on final yield.
- Pick young and green for fresh eating, or leave to dry. Young, tender pods can be eaten fresh; for dried storage, leave the plant standing until pods rattle and have turned brown and papery.
- Shell and finish drying indoors, or set some aside to sprout. Shell dried pods and spread the beans out somewhere warm and airy for a final week of drying before storing airtight -- or keep a portion aside for sprouting fresh.
Sowing & Harvesting Calendar
Pick your zone under "Temperature Range by Month" above and this updates too. Boreal and Alpine show no window at all, since this site's own yield data marks mung bean as not viable in either.
Calories & Yield
Mung bean is a genuine calorie staple when dried at 3,470 kcal per kg -- in the same league as wheat. Tropical gives the best yield here.
| Climate Zone | Yield per plant | Calories per plant | Viability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical / Humid | 2.0 kg | 6940 kcal | Viable -- best yield |
| Subtropical | 1.8 kg | 6246 kcal | Viable |
| Mediterranean | 1.8 kg | 6246 kcal | Viable |
| Temperate Maritime | 0.6 kg | 2082 kcal | Challenging (60% yield) |
| Temperate Continental | 0.72 kg | 2498.4 kcal | Challenging (60% yield) |
| Cool / Boreal | -- | -- | Not viable |
| Arid / Semi-Arid | 1.5 kg | 5205 kcal | Viable |
| Highland / Alpine | -- | -- | Not viable |
Figures per plant sown, dried weight, from the site's own crop database. Maritime and Continental already reflect the 60% penalty applied to challenging zones.
Varieties Worth Knowing
Mung bean varieties are less differentiated by branded name than most beans, but a couple stand out. Both below are open-pollinated (OP), meaning seed saved from them breeds true and is worth keeping under this site's seed-saving approach; neither is an F1 hybrid.
Seed Saving -- Quick Guide
Mung bean is a self-pollinating Vigna species with very low crossing risk -- and it doesn't cross with black gram, adzuki or moth bean either, despite the shared genus.
SERVINGS, NOT DAILY CALORIES This works out plate-sized servings of mung bean from your seed during its fresh harvest window only, not your group's full daily calorie needs. For that, use the main calculator.
Estimated for your selected zone above, using this site's own germination, loss and yield figures for mung bean -- a helping is roughly what you'd put on a plate as part of a meal with other veg. Treat it as a planning estimate, not a promise.
Storage & Preservation
Mung bean can be eaten fresh, sprouted for salads, or grown here specifically for dried storage -- pods left on the plant until fully dry, then shelled and given a final week of airing indoors before going into an airtight container.
Stored this way in a cool, dry place, dried mung beans keep for a genuinely long time -- years rather than months, the same storage league as wheat, oats and this site's other dried staples.
Growing Mung Beans Without Bought Inputs
Bean beetles and aphids are the main pests to watch for, along with slugs on young seedlings.
Rotating away from the same ground each year and hand-picking pests off the plants are simple, genuinely effective input-free measures -- mung bean's fast growth also means fewer weeks of exposure to pest pressure than slower legumes.
Mung bean fixes its own nitrogen via bacteria in root nodules, genuinely improving the soil for whatever's grown there next -- factor that into a wider rotation plan, not just a calorie one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does mung bean cross-pollinate with cowpea or adzuki bean?
No -- mung bean, cowpea and adzuki bean all belong to the same genus, Vigna, but they're distinct species and do not cross with each other despite that genus-level relatedness. That's a different situation from the common bean cluster elsewhere on this site (Borlotti, Haricot and French bean), which genuinely is one shared species.
Can I sprout mung bean instead of growing it to harvest?
Yes -- per the crop database's own description, mung bean can sprout for fresh eating, on top of its usual role as a fast-growing dried pulse. That makes it one of the more flexible legumes on this site.
Why isn't mung bean viable in Boreal or Alpine zones on this site?
It's a genuine warm-season crop that needs warm weather to grow well and is frost-tender at both ends of the season -- exactly the combination that a short, cool Boreal or Alpine growing season can't provide.