Pole Beans runneth over....and over....

Hi everyone!
This is my 1st time that I planted Pole Bean seeds in my garden and oh my goodness - I couldn't be any happier!!

These are "OLD HOMESTEAD KENTUCKY BLUE WONDER" from Baker Creek Heirloom.

I am still harvesting the green beans......

I will certainly plant them again next year!

Thank you, Dunkinjean, for the recommendation for the Baker Creek Kentucky Wonder beans. I've noted it for my seed order from Baker Creek this upcoming spring. The beans we're growing now are good, but not overly productive, and your experience makes me want a change. BTW, how are you growing these...what kind of trellis? We're using arched cattle panels; do you think they'd do well on them? Have you tried making dilly beans with them? Dilly beans are something we do enjoy, hence my question. Best Fall wishes, Nonna

Hi Nonna,
We are using a basic trellis (from Mel's book) that my husband made. They have grown on them fine. I also think your cattle panels will do fine since the bean's vines are very strong.
What are dilly beans? I have heard of them but never had them or saw them! Please let me know.
Thanks.

Dilly beans are beans picked at about the diameter of your little finger, packed into a jar with a good pickling brine, some sliced garlic and as much fresh dill as you like. Sometimes I've been gifted with beans that aren't straight and beautiful, so I arrange the curled beans in their own jar, pack with an extra hot pepper, and label them as scorpion tails.

Here's my take on Dilly Beans or Pickled Dilled Green Beans
Makes 5 pint jars of pickles

3 pounds fresh young beans
3 cups water
3 cups cider vinegar
5 small heads of fresh dill, or equal amount of dill seed
1 tablespoon pickling salt
5 cloves garlic, sliced thin
a hot Serrano or Thai chili pod per jar, if you like your dillys hot

Wash beans, drain thoroughly and remove any stems (I like to retain the “beak” on the tip of the beans, especially for scorpion beans). Prepare the brine: combining the water, vinegar and salt. Bring to a boil and hold at just under a simmer until just before pouring over the packed jars. Also sterilize 5 pint jars and lids and rings for the dillys. An easy way to keep them sterilized and hot is to put a couple inches boiling water in your Crock Pot, and place lids, rings and jars in it to maintain sterility.

To pack jars:
Parboil the beans (and chilis if using) in boiling water to cover for 5 minutes; drain. In each of 5 hot, sterilized pint canning jars, place a head of dill and a couple slices of garlic, and pack the hot beans lengthwise into the jars, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Position additional garlic slices to show through the glass, along with a red hot pepper—window dressing, you know.

Pour hot brine over beans in the jar to no higher than 1/2 inch from top. Wipe jar rims and adjust rims to tight, but not too tight. Process filled jars in a boiling water canner for 5 minutes.

Ooops, should have mentioned in the above recipe to have the Crock Pot set on high. Nonna

Dunkinjean wrote:Hi Nonna,
We are using a basic trellis (from Mel's book) that my husband made. They have grown on them fine. I also think your cattle panels will do fine since the bean's vines are very strong.
What are dilly beans? I have heard of them but never had them or saw them! Please let me know.
Thanks.

This is my first year with pole beans, Kentucky Wonder, and WOW...they are all over the place. Very productive but quickly over grew Mel;s trellis and have gone over the top and are now close to the ground.

Now I find them difficult to locate the beans becuse I will come up with a load and my wife, a few hours later, will also have more. Is it just my eyes or are they hard to find?

floyd1440 wrote: "Now I find them difficult to locate the beans becuse I will come up with a load and my wife, a few hours later, will also have more. Is it just my eyes or are they hard to find?"

No, your eyes are fine, but beans are sneaky. That's why I planted purple podded beans this year. Gives me a better chance at nabbing them. Nonna

I also am having a fantastic harvest with Kentucky Wonder. If I miss some when picking (easy to do), they get SO long! I've had some that were about a foot long.

CC

Our pole beans went up the trellis and over like Niagara Falls, then into a tangled mess. However, our 6 yr. old daughter who is learning to garden is at a great height(or low height) to help pick. It has been fun and we plan to plant double next year. Purple pole beans????
Renee

Yep, beans come in more colors than green. The purple in the string beans is "fugitive" and disappears when the bean is cooked, then they're ordinary green. My granddaughter calls them "magic beans" because of this color change. My choice for pickled beans, though, are the gold-colored ones, they make such a pretty jar of dilly beans with a red chili pepper or two. Nonna

Hmmm...that may be a good idea for next Spring so I don't miss any when picking. I'll have to keep an eye out for them next time.

Kentucky Wonder also make a nice soup bean, so I'm told. That would make a good use for those hidden beans that aren't harvested when young! Let them dry on the vine then you have a supply for winter soups.

Janas wrote:Kentucky Wonder also make a nice soup bean, so I'm told. That would make a good use for those hidden beans that aren't harvested when young! Let them dry on the vine then you have a supply for winter soups.

A good idea Janas.

Don't forget to leave a couple of big full pods on and let them stay there till the winter die down comes and then take them off for further drying so you can have them as free seeds next year.

Great use of sunroom or greenhouse during the day: Just pop the beans out of the pods and spread them out on a newspaper page and let them dry during the day, remove to a dry place over night, then put out again into the bright, warm sun to dry more. Last year, I finished drying them in a wire mesh basket suspended over the wood stove overnight. They've been stored in large Mason jars through the winter, and no sign of mold or insects. Our Good Mother Stallard dry beans are just about gone, but I've set aside enough seed to replant for the upcoming season! Nonna, who's wondering if there's another ham hock in the freezer for more beans.

Well, I just planted my "Kentucky Wonder" pole beans this year on 4/27. They are already coming up -
Plantoid: I didn't realize I can let some pods dry out in the fall and save some beans and use to replant. I will certainly try it this year.
Anyone else growing "Kentucky Wonder"?

Choose a couple or three of big pods early on mark them so your not tempted to eat them and leave them to start turning a dusty light brown then cut them off the plant & bring inside some where warm dry & sunny to fully dry them out . pop them when nthe pod splits aned store in an air tight jar ..use the dried milk trick in a bit of stapled up kitchen towel or oven dried rice to keep them extra dry .
Label up and wait till next year . All my beans this year along with my peas have come from own collected seeds.

Even if the seeds were F! hybrids you will usually still get some reasonable crop .
then next year pick the best from that sowing and subsequent sowings .

I was always told never take seeds from the biggest of the seed pods for mother nature often gets her own back by making those seeds a poor cropper. Choose a decent sized pod instead ( this theory also often works when breeding animals apparently )

Dunkinjean wrote:Well, I just planted my "Kentucky Wonder" pole beans this year on 4/27. They are already coming up -

Anyone else growing "Kentucky Wonder"?

I did last year. I love them! Very prolific and tasty! Been toying with the idea of putting a few seeds in now but I wasn't sure if it might be too cold with that cold spell we're getting next week. The nights here are heading into the 30's & 40's.

Do they grow in cold like that?

CC

I have Kentucky Wonders they make up half of my bean jungle. They are just about to begin flowering. They are about half way up the trellis in bed 4

I'm loving my Rattlesnake Pole Beans. This is my first time successfully growing pole beans. I tried once before and they got a fungus and died before I got any. I've been growing bush beans, not wanting to give up the trellis space for pole beans. This year has definitely changed my mind about that. I don't know how long they will keep going, but so far the harvest just keeps getting better and better.