Green Beans

First year with GB, and I don't know what I like, so I bought a BUNCH of different kinds of beans. I'll find out:
1) what germinates (Baby Gourmet has a LOW germ.rate I can tell you that already)
2) what grows well in my conditions
3) what I like the TASTE of
4) what freezes well (if there are any leftovers)

I planted 5/5, 6/1, and will continue 7/1 and 8/1 -- just to see (Pinto in first two plantings because they take so long)

Types of GB
- Stringless Green Pod (50d)
- Tenderpod (50d)
- Derby (53d)
- Tendergreen Improved (53d)
- Contender (55d)
- Kitchen King (55d)
- Harvester (55d)
- Blue Lake Bush (58d)
- Blue Lake Bush 274 (58d)
- Baby Gourmet (60d)
- Cherokee Wax (65d)
- Pinto (85-90d)
- Scarlet Runner
- Rattlesnake

I want to try some colors, too, because I already learned that finding green pea pods among green pea leaves is a trail YELLOW, RED, and PURPLE bean pods among green leaves sounds so much nicer.

I don't intend to grow all of these every year. But I've never done this and I found a lot of 20c and 50c seed packets, so it's an inexpensive experiement.

Any of these above that you love or hate? Any suggestions for further experimenting?

I'm not familiar with most of your list, so apologies if this is redundant.

I'm partial to a Romano green bean called Helda. They're flat, and fit into canning jars nicely.

I agree that finding green beans on green plants is difficult. My wife and I have developed a habit where we follow each other when harvesting. She'll make the first harvest, then I come along to harvest the same plants. Or visa versa. We find that we miss a lot of beans on the first harvest.

My favorite trellis is an arch type made from re-inforcing wire. The beans literally hang down for easy picking; no searching required.

I do the Tenderpods every year, germinate and produce very well for me. Also planting Scarlet Runners this year and will see how they fare.

Another 'colored' bean pod you might want to try is the Dragon's Tongue. They have had very good germination and production for me as well. When ready to pick they are a pale greenish yellow with purple stripes. However, it has been my experience that these are no easier to see hanging in the dense bean underbrush than greenies!

GG

Goosegirl wrote:I do the Tenderpods every year, germinate and produce very well for me. Also planting Scarlet Runners this year and will see how they fare.

Another 'colored' bean pod you might want to try is the Dragon's Tongue. They have had very good germination and production for me as well. When ready to pick they are a pale greenish yellow with purple stripes. However, it has been my experience that these are no easier to see hanging in the dense bean underbrush than greenies!

GG

Good to hear someone had good luck with Dragon Tongue, they're so cool-looking!

I planted an entire square (nine plants) with soaked seeds, and dosed with nitrogen-bacteria sprinkles into each hole...got a whopping two plants out of it, and both looked yellow and terrible. They tried to die, but I wouldn't let them. Now they're trying to not thrive, so we'll have to work on that. But so far, for me, Dragon Tongues have been a bit of a disappointment and a sore point in my first year.

(it is very possible I oversoaked them...we'll see)

brainchasm wrote:

Goosegirl wrote:I do the Tenderpods every year, germinate and produce very well for me. Also planting Scarlet Runners this year and will see how they fare.

Another 'colored' bean pod you might want to try is the Dragon's Tongue. They have had very good germination and production for me as well. When ready to pick they are a pale greenish yellow with purple stripes. However, it has been my experience that these are no easier to see hanging in the dense bean underbrush than greenies!

GG

Good to hear someone had good luck with Dragon Tongue, they're so cool-looking!

I planted an entire square (nine plants) with soaked seeds, and dosed with nitrogen-bacteria sprinkles into each hole...got a whopping two plants out of it, and both looked yellow and terrible. They tried to die, but I wouldn't let them. Now they're trying to not thrive, so we'll have to work on that. But so far, for me, Dragon Tongues have been a bit of a disappointment and a sore point in my first year.

(it is very possible I oversoaked them...we'll see)

I am just about the laziest gardener ever. I soak NOTHING!!! If they don't come up, I plant something else in the spot. So far, all the beans I have tried have wanted to live.

GG

My son loves green bean and I never thought that their were some many different types. So my goal if its not to late in the season for us is to hunt up some weird green beans plant or seeds to try. Might just have to find the seeds for next year since I know our growing season is only like 80 days and time has alright starting ticking off of that.

I'm not sure the exact type but we have always done green bush beans. My son only let me have two or three each year though we had plenty he just didn't want to share them. He would eat them raw right in the garden as I would pick them for dinner, he would hold the bowl. When I was done I would look in bowl and it was only have like two beans left that he would snatch quickly. The ones that I did get to eat were divine!! Let me know how it goes and please post pictures for us to look at.

I will be planting my beans next weekend, after our hopefully last frost.

I plant yellow, green and purple bush varieties and Blue Lake pole bean. This year I am trying a dry bean also, Indian Woman yellow.

This year beans are one of my major crops. I have tried to focus on beans that are multipurpose, so I can either eat them fresh OR leave them to dry as dried beans.
I still have many jars of dilly beans from 2 years ago...
I am trying all heirlooms this year, and tried to get a few that are "nearly extinct"... which makes it all more exciting

1) Fin De Bagnol An old gourmet French bean
2)Calypso (more for drying)
3)speckled cranberry.... a 3 purpose bean... a snap bean, a green shell bean and a dried bean
4) cherokee Trail of tears POLE... Tender pods purple
5) Blue Jay bush.. (rare heirloom) harvested green or left to dry for rich tasting dry bean
6)Painted pony bush ( snap beans and dryP
7) Sultans Green crescent Snap bean... Almost extinct Green stringless and curved.....
I also have seeds given to me from a very old collection, and thus far have managed to START... Black spaghetti beans..

I am working VERY hard at keeping them apart and keeping track of which one is where, so I can save all these seeds. However one entire 4x4 sfg has been left un labeled, I have sifted through areas trying to find unsprouted seeds to ID them.... I think I will be able to in the fall when I save the seeds though.

Please keep us updated. I'm working with Burpee and Ferry-Morris and Bonnie this year. Just to see if I can do this. But since I'm eating a meal a day out of the SFG garden since 4/1, I'm looking around at heirlooms and seed saving and growing something I can't get in the grocery store. Fun!

brainchasm wrote:

Goosegirl wrote:I do the Tenderpods every year, germinate and produce very well for me. Also planting Scarlet Runners this year and will see how they fare.

Another 'colored' bean pod you might want to try is the Dragon's Tongue. They have had very good germination and production for me as well. When ready to pick they are a pale greenish yellow with purple stripes. However, it has been my experience that these are no easier to see hanging in the dense bean underbrush than greenies!

GG

Good to hear someone had good luck with Dragon Tongue, they're so cool-looking!

I planted an entire square (nine plants) with soaked seeds, and dosed with nitrogen-bacteria sprinkles into each hole...got a whopping two plants out of it, and both looked yellow and terrible. They tried to die, but I wouldn't let them. Now they're trying to not thrive, so we'll have to work on that. But so far, for me, Dragon Tongues have been a bit of a disappointment and a sore point in my first year.

(it is very possible I oversoaked them...we'll see)

I really like Dragon Tongues. One time I had a square that did not germinate well but right now I have I think 3 squares producing. They are such compact little plants that I put them in my table tops.

Excellent flavor but very strange the first time you cook them as they turn nearly white but the beans inside stay green.
Now the rattlesnake beans have not germinated well for me. At the moment I don't have any free trellis space to try them again. With the Dragon tongues I can put them anywhere I have a free square.

How fun to be experimenting with such a variety! I have been keeping my plantings very "vanilla" at my husband's request and he has asked that I find him a "better bean." Until I started my garden, he has only had the store bought canned or frozen and has only developed a taste for those. I have been growing the Kentucky Blue pole and tried some type of bush my first year that was pretty stringy. He thinks the KY Blue have too "sharp" of a green bean flavor and too chewy of a texture. Let me know if you find that any of yours might have a more appealing taste/texture for me to try.

Also, anyone ever grow garbanzo beans? We eat a LOT of humus and wondering if the production:space requirement makes it worth growing our own in our small garden.

Garbanzo beans are on my list to try next year, I ran out of space this year. Anybody ever grown them?

I am growing something similar. THey LOOK like chick peas, just a little smaller and almost heart shaped. A woman gave them to me, and calls them russian chick peas...So we will see.

GWN wrote:I am growing something similar. THey LOOK like chick peas, just a little smaller and almost heart shaped. A woman gave them to me, and calls them russian chick peas...So we will see.

Hmmm...I thought chick peas and garbanzo beans were the same as we have used both (canned) chick peas and (dry) garbanzo beans to make our hummus. :scratch: I clearly need to do some research on them before I venture out and try to grow them.

From what I found online, the Russian Chick Pea (7mm) is a smaller variety of garbanzo than the really large Kabuli Chick Pea (9-10mm). I eat a LOT of hummus, so I have comsidered growing them but have not looked how long they take to mature. I have a SHORT growing season!

GG

Lemonie wrote:How fun to be experimenting with such a variety! I have been keeping my plantings very "vanilla" at my husband's request and he has asked that I find him a "better bean." Until I started my garden, he has only had the store bought canned or frozen and has only developed a taste for those. I have been growing the Kentucky Blue pole and tried some type of bush my first year that was pretty stringy. He thinks the KY Blue have too "sharp" of a green bean flavor and too chewy of a texture. Let me know if you find that any of yours might have a more appealing taste/texture for me to try.

Also, anyone ever grow garbanzo beans? We eat a LOT of humus and wondering if the production:space requirement makes it worth growing our own in our small garden.

Lemonie: We grew the Dragon's Tongue beans, because they were "cool looking" for my grandson. Well guess what? They're delicious, VERY abundant growth and NO STRINGS!! They have a mild green bean flavor. I'm definitely going to do these again. We harvested a big plate full last night for dinner, some were "too big", and still...no strings! We didn't even snap them or take the tops or ends off and they were still good! I checked the plants again today and found another servings worth! They really grew well!!

Lemonie....

I thought chick peas and garbanzo beans were the same as we have used both

THEY ARE the same, which is why I posted about it.
I think that these ones are a variant of a chick pea (OR garbanzo)
Goosegirl, thanks for the info, I had not found much about them, I will let you know how long they take and if they do not take too long I can send you some...

southern gardener wrote:

Lemonie wrote:How fun to be experimenting with such a variety! I have been keeping my plantings very "vanilla" at my husband's request and he has asked that I find him a "better bean." Until I started my garden, he has only had the store bought canned or frozen and has only developed a taste for those. I have been growing the Kentucky Blue pole and tried some type of bush my first year that was pretty stringy. He thinks the KY Blue have too "sharp" of a green bean flavor and too chewy of a texture. Let me know if you find that any of yours might have a more appealing taste/texture for me to try.

Also, anyone ever grow garbanzo beans? We eat a LOT of humus and wondering if the production:space requirement makes it worth growing our own in our small garden.

Lemonie: We grew the Dragon's Tongue beans, because they were "cool looking" for my grandson. Well guess what? They're delicious, VERY abundant growth and NO STRINGS!! They have a mild green bean flavor. I'm definitely going to do these again. We harvested a big plate full last night for dinner, some were "too big", and still...no strings! We didn't even snap them or take the tops or ends off and they were still good! I checked the plants again today and found another servings worth! They really grew well!!

So jealous! Nine plantings of Dragon Tongue, I got two stunty plants!

If I get any beans at all, I'll be amazed!

Southern Gardner: Awesome! Sounds like I'll need to set aside some space to try those next year. Might try to pick some up at the farmer's market first to test them out on hubby.

GWN: Ooooh! Gotcha! Thanks for setting me straight! Glad I'm not as crazy as the voices say.

BUMP!

Turan wrote:I will be planting my beans next weekend, after our hopefully last frost.

I plant yellow, green and purple bush varieties and Blue Lake pole bean.  This year I am trying a dry bean also, Indian Woman yellow.

I'm growing Oregon Blue Lake pole beans for the first time this year, and I'm curious if you, Turan, or anyone else who's ever grown them have had this experience: they're about to topple my 6' tall trellis with their weight, and are up to about 10-12' tall/long but are only now just starting to flower.  We had a really late Spring and then a very wet couple of months early on, so I don't know if that's what's up or is this typical?  The seed packet said 6' height, so I didn't count on so much growth or lateness.

Thanks in advance!

Yeah, my Blue Lakes have done the same thing. I usually do get beans a little sooner, but they always grow well over 6' and form a tangle of vines about 7' to 8' up with additional tendrils heading down. Normally they flower in early July, but I think the weather threw them off. Mine are getting into the swing of things following a week of super hot weather and my beans are taking coming in nicely.

OK, I feel better then. First frost for me is about 4 weeks away, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for the info!

I have several varieties of beans growing, however the "sultans green crecent snap bean, which is a pole bean and a very rare heirloom, has grown HUGE, way past the 6 foot poles I put up, and now toppling over.
All my other beans have been producing very well except this one.
AND FINALLY 2 days ago they started to flower.
It has been WAYYYY too hot here and that, I believe is what kept them from flowering.

USUALLY my beans slow down their flowering when it gets too hot.

So glad everyone else is getting beans, it was kind of concerning with the incredible amount of growth and NO BEANS.

Sounds a bit like what I'm experiencing with my Kentucky Wonders here in Oregon. We had a very late summer with a 35 degree difference between day and night temperatures. Plants about 9 feet tall, initial small burst of flowers that all dropped off, and just yesterday my first tiny bean.

My Kentucky Wonders have gotten huge but very few beans this year. The painted lady beans started blooming early and have been blooming their little vines off, but not a single bean. I left them up as the bees were loving them. The yard long beans have huge vines and are producing beans but not that many. Fortunately it only takes a few of them to make a meal for me.

I'm blaming the rich compost I covered my beds with in May. Usually I have a spring crop and the beans go where the peas were without additional compost. This year I didn't have a spring garden. Did I read it here on someplace else that beans prefer a leaner soil?

Kay