How many plants for average family:
3 or 4 rows per person

Type of plant:
annual

Best Varieties:
Climbing – Snake , Purple king, Lazy housewife
Bush – Redlands Beauty, Greenleaf,
Butter beans
Broad beans

Sowing:
Large seeds makes direct sowing easy.
Sow into moist soil and don’t water until germinated otherwise seed can rot.
Need lime and potash added to soil at planting.

Growing Habit:
Climbing varieties need teepee, cage or trellis for support.
Bush only need minimal support if any.
Broad beans can be supported with twine tied to posts at 4 corners of area sown.

Growing Conditions:
Adequate water through flowering and pod set. Add Epsom salts for magnesium deficiency (yellowing leaves) 1 or 2 times through growing season if required.

Companions:
Beetroot, broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, dill, lettuce, lovage, marjoram, onions, peas, Silverbeet, Spinach.

Problems:
Bean fly.
Poor germination if soil is too moist.
Stunting and yellowing leaves if pH too low (acid).
Poor pod set if temperatures consistently too hot (over 30 C).

For further information:

Watch Your Garden Grow - Beans
... Asparagus. Beans. Beet. Broccoli. Brussels Sprouts ... warm season vegetable that ranks second to tomato in popularity in home gardens. Bush Beans stand erect without support ...
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/beans1.html

bean recipes from FATFREE.COM: the low fat vegetarian recipe archive
... all-day-baked-beans (vegan) anasazi-beans-ginger-cauliflower (vegan) ...
http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/beans

Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)
... GUIDE SHEETS: Vegetables Asparagus Beans Beets Brassicas Broccoli Brussels Sprouts Cabbage Carrots ... Green and Yellow Snap Beans. These used to be called string beans, but the ...
http://www.gardenguides.com/Vegetables/beans.htm