Pole beans
 

I know this is tomatoville, but sometimes I just can't believe how good pole beans taste.
I love tomatoes, but long after the last leaker has drained itself on the counter I still crave green beans. It's like tomatoes are the rock stars and green beans are the roadies, or something like that....

What are your favorites?

Currently Fortex and Northeaster.
Both are stringless.
I would entertain others..... What do you recommend fellow bean lover?

I will say my mothers maiden name is Bean, so there must be some history.

I like green beans too and as far as I am concerned the more you screw with them the more you ruin them.
Like a pretty girl wearing makeup, she doesn't need it.

Maybe some bacon or a little salt pork or something but that is it not including the girl, well maybe.
They are one of the few things I dont spice up.
Who ever dreamed up green bean casserole should be tared and feathered and ran out of town on a rail.

Not one green bean I grew this year made it to the house I ate them all in the garden.

Worth

Oops double post

It was my first year with a full garden in VA. I'm getting used to the change from WI. My bush beans did and are doing great - Contender (in early), Jade II, and Blue Lake.

My pole beans (Blue Lake) did horrible. I think they started to flower just when the high heat hit - they were a disaster - all leaf, no beans.

When I was dating my wife 32 years ago she fixed a green bean casserole - I couldn't find the beans. Shortly after, we moved for my first job to Appalachia - she learned to cook from our friends there. Green beans, a little stock, and some bacon grease. Yum!

Nematode:

Thanks for the ideas. Looks like Fortex can grow up to 11 inches and Northeaster is a roma - I'll give them a try.

Beans of all kinds are my primary interest (heresy in this neck of the woods, I know) so a list of all of my favorites would be long. Right now the growing season is nearing the end, and all the beans are ripening furiously. For all but one, I already have enough dry seed to replace the older seed in the collection.

This is one of my favorite times of the year, because most of the beans I grow are good as shellies. We've been eating fresh shellies daily for over a week, with at least 2-3 weeks more to come. Zlatac is an heirloom pole wax bean, but it also produces really good shellies if allowed to ripen; I froze 10 pints of shelled beans. We just finished shelling and cooking Striped Cornfield, one of DW's favorites... she'll be snacking on them for a week.

We also shelled out all of the remaining Ma Williams (a.k.a. Goose); large-seeded, easy to shell, and incredibly productive. Fat pink pods when ripe. Probably the best all-round shelly, and the one that first got me interested in shelly beans.
[IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n244/zeedman/garden252.jpg[/IMG]

Bosnian Pole shellies are ready to harvest, if the rain ever stops. Tetovac is the only variety dragging its feet; it has only now begun to dry down a few pods. It appears that the freeze will be late this year, though, so I'm hopeful that I'll still get a fair amount of dry seed - and a big shelly harvest.

For snaps, I rotate between Fortex, Emerite, and Kentucky Wonder White #191; it was Emerite's turn this year. It was planted late (the last week of June) and still did really well.

Violet's Multi-colored Lima is bearing heavily, and I already have several pounds of dry seed; so I'll be freezing the remainder as butterbeans. Like all the beans but one, it has done exceptionally well, so that should be a good harvest. The runner bean I grew for seed & shellies (Bianco de Spagna) is covered with fat pods, but nothing yet beginning to ripen; I may get shellies, but dry seed looks unlikely at this point.

We really enjoy our pole beans, too, and have tried both Fortex and Noreaster, but Rattlesnake and Emerite have performed better and tasted better for us.

Grew Helda Romano and Golden Gate pole beans. In spite of the damage from Japanese Beetles, we had trouble keeping up with them. Both were very meaty and very productive.

I'm partial to Roma style pole beans and have grown Super Marconi, Romano, and this year dad gave me seeds for an unknown variety he's been growing for years. My husband and I love them boiled in salted water until tender then "dressed" with good olive oil.

For snaps, Tormato turned me on to Provider, and boy do they live up to their name!

My favorite is Liberty runner beans that I mail ordered from UK,they are big, tender and sweet, if you get them before the pods fill up. Some can reach 1 foot long and still tender. Not good for dry summer under high heat though. They are the ealiest to produce and again when cooler.
I grew Scarlet runner, moonbeam, and Insuk xx this year. Only Liberty is still producing now, in clusters.

I was also impressed by "Pension" from Johnny's. Super productive little bushes with flat pods that's stringless.

my favorites,

my great uncle steves italian pole bean.
mr tung
case knife good for short season climates. easy to save seed.
sicitalian black swamp pole bean
marengo first time growing good romano type yellow bean
marie amazalitai a yellow bean shaped like the number 6
tennessee red eye fall bean



keith

For green, love Fortex and Cherokee Trail of Tears. Spouse loves wax beans and since we have a small urban plot, I've been trying unsuccessfully in recent years, to find a wax pole bean that tastes good and freezes well. So far, all I seem to be doing is Dreaming the Impossible Dream.. Any suggestions from the Bean Lovers here? Thanks.

My oldtime favorite is Ky Wonder, but if allowed to get big they are stringy. I discovered Kwintus a few years ago, and love them. No matter how big they are they are still tender and stringless. The seeds are hard to find lately. I have saved seeds year to year.

[QUOTE=JoParrott;594756]My oldtime favorite is Ky Wonder, but if allowed to get big they are stringy. I discovered Kwintus a few years ago, and love them. No matter how big they are they are still tender and stringless. The seeds are hard to find lately. I have saved seeds year to year.[/QUOTE]



This sounds like one of the varieties my dad gave me seeds for. He originally got them from a friend who had forgotten what the were. Mom and dad just call them "The Big Ones."

Can you tell me what the seeds look like? I searched on line and found many listings for Kwintus (found out it's also called Northeaster and Early Riser), but only pictures of the pods.

Northeaster seeds are white. The traditional KY Wonder seeds are brown.

Are the Northeasters pure white? And what shape are they?

These are what the seeds from "The Big Ones" look like. I'd really love to find out what the are.

[IMG]http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161003/5019ee661999add91eeaaa1b5b992f89.jpg[/IMG]

I also really love beans. I love growing really everything and often wish there was a place like TVille where all veggies are equal! haha.

I was in Gary's swap last year and i'm personally way more excited about the beans and such than the maters ;)

I grew flamingo, trionfo violetto and blue shackamaxon and I didn't try a single one of these beans! I saved them all for seed to distribute. But that blue shackamaxon was nuts productive. I think the other two would have been as well but they kept getting nipped by bunnies and the flamingos couldn't seem to get the concept of the bean tepee.

For bush I have been growing blue lake and love them. I haven't tried another variety . Kinda if it ain't broke why fix it? Great canner bean for me.

I had one bean tepee last year, i'm upping to 5 this year. :)

You can still try Blue Shackamaxon - it generally is grown for dried seed!

Good to know Philagardener! I need to learn to eat dried beans other than just in chili. Lol!

Beans in chili Grrrrrrrrr.:evil::evil::lol:

Worth

[QUOTE=JoParrott;594756]My oldtime favorite is Ky Wonder, but if allowed to get big they are stringy. I discovered Kwintus a few years ago, and love them. No matter how big they are they are still tender and stringless. The seeds are hard to find lately. I have saved seeds year to year.[/QUOTE]

Was poking around looking for bean ideas and came across this old thread.

Northeaster is Kwintus re-named.

Need to try shellies this year.

I did not want to start a new thread and was unable to find type of beans I am looking for even with the google search.
Please advise.
I am growing beans for the first time. We would like to add them to a salad raw. So, string beans would be preferable. I am growing tendergreen bush improved, taste and production is fine. My DH does not like it for a reason that its pods [COLOR="Red"]does not have smooth skin[/COLOR].
Please help. I need few names of the bush and pole beans that have smooth pods.
Thank you.

Northeaster is Kwintus
Sounds like something good to try. Strings are so disappointing in a green bean!



And if there are bedbugs around....Kidney bean leaves. Scientists are trying to recreate their effect with synthetic materials.

[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/science/earth/how-a-leafy-folk-remedy-stopped-bedbugs-in-their-tracks.html[/url]

[SIZE=4][FONT=Comic Sans MS]Kwintus seeds are white- I originally got Kwintus seeds from Park Seeds, but when they stopped selling them I found them at Kitazawa Seeds. Someone said that Early Riser beans are the same-THEY ARE NOT! Kwintus beans are flat Italian type pole beans which can get fairly large and not be stringy or tough. [/FONT][/SIZE]

Kwintus, Northeaster, and Early Riser have all been distributed as the same bean (Kwintus=Early Riser, Northeaster=Early Riser) . Whether they are all different, two are the same, or all three are the same is lost on me. I'll keep trialing white seeded, very early, stringless, large, flat, green podded varieties under those names to see if I can find any possible difference in them.:?:

Tormato, thanks- I will be interested in hearing your results. At 83 years of age, I just don't feel like attempting any long range trials! But there has been a lot of variation in my harvests, and I don't know what causes it. Some of my beans will grow in a semi-circle instead of straight- no clue why-is it heat-winds, ? I will continue watching this thread to get all the help I can--I love my beans!

[QUOTE=JoParrott;660399]Tormato, thanks- I will be interested in hearing your results. At 83 years of age, I just don't feel like attempting any long range trials! But there has been a lot of variation in my harvests, and I don't know what causes it. Some of my beans will grow in a semi-circle instead of straight- no clue why-is it heat-winds, ? I will continue watching this thread to get all the help I can--I love my beans![/QUOTE]

I wouldn't rely on Kitazawa for accurate info. They do have a good selection of rarer veggies, though. They still list Akahana Mame and Shirohana Mame as common beans (P. vulgaris), whereas they are runner beans.

As for your curled beans, very likely weather related. There are some varieties that always grow curled, like Garrafal Oro, and Anellino Giallo (if I remember and spell correctly). For me, GO grows somewhat semi-circle. I sent seeds to someone out in the high desert/mountain country, and they grew complete full-circle. When a pic was posted at another site, almost everyone was astonished, having never seen anything like it.