my most consistent pole bean
 

it may seem like i'm tooting my own horn, but when i look at the pole bean row, the only variety that nearly every seed sprouted is my uncle steve italian pole bean. cool weather doesn't seem to bother it much. it just does what its supposed to do, and grow.
i think it is a good bean for northern growers to try if results with other pole beans have been less than satisfactory.
does anyone else have a never fail pole bean that does well up north?



keith

Purple Peacock does well here, but I'm trying Fortex this year. I'm also growing Insuk's Wang Kong (runner beans).

Insuk's Wang Kong were the first to sprout, but the birds or insects damaged and moved them around. Fortex sprouted several days later, but were unmoved and un-damaged.

Linda

I found if you get ones treated with a chemical powder that stops rotting, then you get WAY more germination success.

Untreated they rot if they don't germinate in time, I have seen it god knows how many times.

I don't know what the chemical is called though, it was a pink powder if I remember. Amazing stuff

Fortex
 

I find Fortex to be the best producer here at 6,000 feet in the Rockies.

Jeminez. The combination of massive pods and massive production of pods puts it above all others.

Fortex fan here, too. I find them to be relatively early, tasty, totally stringless, freeze well. I've quit looking around for other varieties. Some have reported they don't do as well in the south.

Yeah! Two votes for Fortex. I hope that I love the taste too :).

Linda

Trialed quite a few and have decided that Rattlesnake gives us the best combination of taste, production, and resistance to the insects and bean diseases in our area...but I am south of where you are.

[QUOTE=kath;740548]Trialed quite a few and have decided that Rattlesnake gives us the best combination of taste, production, and resistance to the insects and bean diseases in our area...but I am south of where you are.[/QUOTE]

My wife said she didn't like Rattlesnake Beans. One of the characteristics of it is that it only gets the patterns on the outer skin with direct exposure to the sun. Then when you cook them, the patterns disappear and they look like most other snap beans. I tricked her one year when I was growing about 6 different varieties and she never knew the difference until I told her. She had even commented that "the last mess of beans we had was really very good. Much better than most of what we have eaten this year." She thought we were eating Kentucky Wonder. When I told her that it wasn't Kentucky Wonder, she said, "Oh, I meant to say Blue Lake". Well, after I told her the truth of the matter, she hasn't said a word about what variety we're growing or eating.

And, Yes, put my vote in for my Blue Lakes, but also for Rattlesnake as well.

[QUOTE=ContainerTed;740601]My wife said she didn't like Rattlesnake Beans. One of the characteristics of it is that it only gets the patterns on the outer skin with direct exposure to the sun. Then when you cook them, the patterns disappear and they look like most other snap beans. I tricked her one year when I was growing about 6 different varieties and she never knew the difference until I told her. She had even commented that "the last mess of beans we had was really very good. Much better than most of what we have eaten this year." She thought we were eating Kentucky Wonder. When I told her that it wasn't Kentucky Wonder, she said, "Oh, I meant to say Blue Lake". Well, after I told her the truth of the matter, she hasn't said a word about what variety we're growing or eating.

And, Yes, put my vote in for my Blue Lakes, but also for Rattlesnake as well.[/QUOTE]

LOL! :lol: I love the striped look that some of them have, but don't mind that it disappears- taste is the most important criteria when it's time to eat! :yes:

[QUOTE=kath;740678]LOL! :lol: I love the striped look that some of them have, but don't mind that it disappears- taste is the most important criteria when it's time to eat! :yes:[/QUOTE]

Yes, and while the Blue Lakes can produce more beans that are larger "around", the rattlesnake beans are on average a couple inches longer. So, it kinda evens things up. And, I find that production is very comparable.

Pole beans are the best thing I have found in recent years to replace my French filet bush varieties. Easier on my back and produce all summer until frost. There are not many French filet pole bean varieties but Fortex is certainly one of the best already extolled above.
I find it interesting that no one has mentioned Emerite as well, a green filet variety pole bean, which rivals Fortex for flavor and production. I have grown both and concluded I prefer the Emerite by a small margin for texture. But both are outstanding. For yellow filet pole beans I love Ramdor but can only find a supplier in Canada (Solana) which I have used. As an alternative I buy French Gold from Renee’s Garden which is also a filet pole bean and almost as good.

Aside from Rattlesnake, the rest are just names to me, have not seen them Down Under. One question I have in regards to the filet pole beans mentioned above - how do they vary from green pole beans like Lazy House Wife, which does very well here

[QUOTE=Gardadore;740712]Pole beans are the best thing I have found in recent years to replace my French filet bush varieties. Easier on my back and produce all summer until frost. There are not many French filet pole bean varieties but Fortex is certainly one of the best already extolled above.
I find it interesting that no one has mentioned Emerite as well, a green filet variety pole bean, which rivals Fortex for flavor and production. I have grown both and concluded I prefer the Emerite by a small margin for texture. But both are outstanding.[/QUOTE]
I concur; I love both Fortex & Emerite, and grow both on a regular basis (Emerite last year, Fortex this year). IMO Fortex has better flavor, and is notably delicious raw. Emerite is not as sweet, but has more uniform pods, and a firmer texture well suited to canning (it makes exceptional dilly beans). Both have great cool-soil germination, and good quality when frozen.


If I could choose only one, it would be Emerite, which has been the more productive of the two. It has proven to be reliable year after year, even planted late.

[QUOTE=Zeedman;741093]I concur; I love both Fortex & Emerite, and grow both on a regular basis (Emerite last year, Fortex this year). IMO Fortex has better flavor, and is notably delicious raw. Emerite is not as sweet, but has more uniform pods, and a firmer texture well suited to canning (it makes exceptional dilly beans). Both have great cool-soil germination, and good quality when frozen.


If I could choose only one, it would be Emerite, which has been the more productive of the two. It has proven to be reliable year after year, even planted late.[/QUOTE]
I have grown fortex rattlesnake and emerite...I prefer emerite for 7 years now


RWG