cowpeas, specially black-eye pea, pods are fine when relatively small. That is your winner if you have hot and dry. Hot and wet, the best ones are yardlong beans.
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Thought I’d revive this thread just to report on the early progress so far.
I kinda forgot to source some Fortex but did order in some Jade II based on the intel from Chikn.
I got a late start to the whole garden thing this year, so I didn’t get beans planted until 5/12.
54 days later I have picked a gallon of Jade II (Right on target as the packet says 56-58 days) and while it’s still early I must say I’m impressed with the set and the flavor. They have a lot of young ones coming, so I assume they’ll prove to be a pretty heavy bearer.
The plants in the Jade II row aren’t as big as those in the row of Blue Lake, yet they have started to lay down under some of our recent storms so I’ve run a support line down both sides to see if I can keep them off the ground. Seems early to have to worry about stuff laying on the ground so…
But the Blue Lake are only now showing some teeny tiny beans. They’re a very robust looking plant and are half again as big as Jade II, just somewhat later to set. They’ll come along I’m pretty sure, but so far the heat hasn’t seemed to hinder the Jade II even a little bit from what I can tell. If it does like I think it might, it’ll probably have to be in my garden every single year! (A bean the scoffs at the hot temps - ya just gotta love it!)
I also ordered in some Strike beans only because I watched a YouTube of a couple that were hauling them in by the bushels. (I think they were from maybe North Carolina but not positive. I do know it was farther south than here…) I planted them about two weeks later on the 26th, so they’re only half as big as the other two varieties. So I’m interested to see how they do too.
Now keeping the cucumber and flea beetles at bay is the next bridge to cross…
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I’m glad you like Jade II. I planted our 3rd planting of JadeII a couple days ago and they are emerging w/o any rain for 3 wks, growing in the dust!
I don’t think they go in the freezer well, but we were eating fresh Jade II in mid Nov. last year. I’m a big fan of that bean and it tastes good too.
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That might be an issue, as freezing beans is something we do a lot of. Just no way we could eat all these fresh without starting to take on a skin-tone like the Incredible Hulk.
We’ll probably have to experiment with freezing them just due to overall numbers. Right now my wife has cooked everything I’ve brought in though, but I’m sure that will end soon.
Blue Lake freezes real well so we’ll have plenty in the freezer anyway.
They’re all going to be tested this next couple week with the temps though.
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The yard long beans here can grow and make beans during hot Houston Summers, and if fed and kept hydrated are a worthwhile pursuit that takes up only a small amount of yard space.
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Just as kind of another (later) update: We’ve harvested 39 gallons of green beans so far this year. There has been a lull and in fact not many beans since the middle portion of July. Only a half gallon here, or a gallon there.
I’d not picked any Jade 2 since 8/1 when I picked half a gallon, and before that on 7/27 I picked a half gallon. So they seemed to just take an extended break.
Today I got a 5 gal bucket and a 5 quart pail off of the 40’ row.
I think I’m sick of beans 
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So, what are ya gonna do with all those? Can them? Is Jade a pole or bush bean? How many rows of beans do y’all have and what other varieties?
We’ve already canned about 13qt of half-runners, and they need to picked again soon, or they’ll get too big and stringy. Hopefully we’ll have enough Rattlesnake pole beans to can this time. This is our first year growing them that they’ve done well, and I think I like them more than the half-runners. I can eat them straight off the vine, they’re so sweet.
I’m happy with all the beans, but like you, I think I’ll be getting tired of them soon. Still, a nice problem to have! After no real harvest this year, it’s good to have a better crop this year.
The corn’s about to be ready, so we’re pretty geeked about trying some Honey Select and Silver Queen. Hope we get to it before the varmits!
Btw, I saw earlier today on radar that y’all got some pretty strong storms. Were they that bad at your place?
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I vacuum seal them and freeze them, but it seems like we eat green beans every other night during the season
Jade II is a bush bean that I’m trying for the first time on the recommendation of Chikn last year.
I planted a 40’ row of Blue Lake, a 40’ row of Jade II, and a 30’ row of Strike.
I did plant a row of Blue Lake pole beans but I’ve totally ignored them - they seemed to be the trap crop in the garden for JB’s, and time I noticed anything on the vines they were way too big to be eating.
Speaking of JB’s they’ve not totally vacated here yet. I saw a hoard of them on my ferned out Asparagus today.
Yes we got a lot of rain today, 1.7" to start the day out, then sunny and nothing much to speak of, then I think around 7ish they opened up the spigot again and I think it’s still raining steady. Afraid to check the rain gauge in the morning…
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Glad to hear yer doing well in that dept. Sounds like you may have to have a freezer just for the beans!
Glad you like the Blue Lakes, but I just don’t care for them, but maybe that’s just bush beans in general. How do Jade and strike compare taste wise to BL? What about the texture? I think that’s what I don’t like about BL’s, is the thick pod.
We did a about a 50’ row of white half-runners, and of the Rattlesnake beans, plus about a 45’ row of striped half-runners, with the other 5’ filled with Top Crop.
If by JB, you are talking about Japanese beetles, then I think they’re done here. Surprised they didn’t hit the beans too bad. But, they just about stripped my three tart cherry bushes I planted this spring. They put on decent growth, and put out a lot of leaves earlier this summer, but the beetles worked them over. They also got to a few of the apples and pears, but not too bad. The tree hit the worst was my Honeycrisp.
Pretty hot today, about 85, and hotter tomorrow, and more humid. Gotta pick beans tomorrow, not looking forward to that…
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Not a variety recommendation, but a cultural one. I’ve been told that bush beans are determinate, so them giving out is from that, not just the heat. Don’t know if that’s true, but when they start to give out, cut them back to about a one inch stub. Most of the time, they will regrow and give a new flush of beans. I’ve never done it on a large scale, but in my small garden it’s faster than replanting seeds. I do water them really well when I cut them back.
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I’ve not done a side-by-side, but I like them all. It seems to me that Jade are a more consistent, uniformly longer/strighter been that is a darker green. I imagine the bean texture to be similar to BL. On the other hand, the Strike are a more pale green. I guess I maybe shouldn’t use “pale”, but for sure a lighter green that seems even lighter yet upon blanching. Of the three I kinda think these are the most ho-hum in the taste department.
Very interesting - I may try that just as a test on some plants. I can’t convince the bride that we need to do up more beans at this point. Heck, she’s wanting me to pull up what we have already!
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Drove through your area last night, it rained!! I had to pull off at Onawa and I never pull off the road for rain. Our second crop of Jade II are just starting. They are very tasty for not getting enough water and too much heat. The first batch is reblooming now but is very rusty and I think I’ll till them for a green manure. Third set will be along in a week. Jade II does get mushy if the soil is dry and hot.
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Yeah we got hammered, lost power until around 3 A.M.
I don’t know what it is about them getting the rust so bad though. I hit all the beans with Immunox a couple times earlier to try and avoid any issues, but the row of Jade just looks red. So when I picked that 6 gals I just pulled off all the rusted foliage. But I did see a few beans that the rust had migrated to. That rust hasn’t seemed to bother much otherwise, but it’s kinda odd that they seem prone whereas the other two rows are not.
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I try not to disturb them when they are any bit wet, seems to really spread rust if they get wet and disturbed.
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I’m the same way, just trying to be cautious about spreading stuff. In fact my grandson was over today and I told him once the sun is up and the wind blowing a tad, the beans will be dry enough to get in on. He later picked 5 quarts of Blue Lake. Li’l 8 year old get’n er done
But I just think these Jade 2 are prone to rust, given the other two rows are pretty clean in that regard.
Again, it hasn’t seemed to hamper their production - in fact I should probably pick that row tonight again since I noticed some looked ready this morning.
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