I have had better luck with pole beans. They keep going throughout the season and take up less area. The kinds I've tried also grow larger beans, easier to pick, and don't get nipped by rodents.
I started out buying some seed from Johnny's - Fortex, Carminat, and Monte Gusto. Three colors of similar style (filet) pole beans. I like them all but some crossing has occurred between the green and purple. They taste the same anyway.
For a bush bean, Velour was similar to these, but not as big. Nickel was decent. Pauldor was a bust...it makes a tiny yellow bean. The seeds are only half the weight, so it shouldn't have been a surprise, but it was.
I also planted a wide variety of bean swap beans. Le Vigeronne sp?, Rattlesnake and one of the Kentucky names were interesting. For the most part I went back to ones I had wanted in the first place.
For storage, they are blanched and frozen. They do hold well and mostly are pan fried just like fresh, but from a mostly frozen start in the pan.
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