Green beans 2020

Green beans can be a good crop in this area though we must be mindful of the heat with certain types of plants. Italian flat green beans are a favorite of mine but dont do well in this area due to the 100 degree days that will soon arrive. 90s and extreme humidity make it as miserable as you can imagine right now. Green beans such as top crop produce very well nut are mostly tough like straw so noone would want to eat them. My favorite bean to grow is provider abundant and strong but good flavored. Whats your favorite bush or pole beans? These are producing another gallon or so of beans today off a small 10 foot row



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I like Jade. It’s a mild, very tender green bush bean. Unfortunately, my seed supply was too old and not viable this spring, so I had to switch to an alternate variety.

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I grow Fortex every year. It stays stringless and edibly tender beyond 1 foot long here.

Then I usually grow a yellow pole bean as well. This year I didn’t get seeds and am trying a purple bean. Got a late start. They haven’t made it onto the cattle panel arch trellises yet, maybe 6 leaves or so each but they look healthy.

Last year I pickled them and they came out great.

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I prefer pole beans because they are easier to keep off the ground and take up less space. Slugs and rabbits were an issue with bush beans. I can’t remember all the varieties I’ve grown, but Blue Lake Pole beans are what I’m currently growing. I’m not too fussy.

A few years ago, I had to go to wedding in Florida in the summer. I was expecting a bean harvest when I got back. To my horror, every single pole bean plant was leafless when I returned. Deer never touched the beans in nearly 3 decades of growing them, but now I keep the beans fenced as well. :roll_eyes:

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i grow yellow pole beans i got the seeds from johnnys. they are so sweet and very productive. they take little room and my back appreciates me not having to bend over to pick them.

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I like meaty green beans so I grow Romano pole bean and bush bean roma II

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I’ve become accustomed to having to barricade anything I plan to have reach maturity.

Deer are possibly the most worthless animal on earth.

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A little salt and pepper and some pork fat the deer are ok.

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except for dinner! :wink:

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I grow Fortex every year. They are the only bean I enjoy eating fresh. Mine are taking it slow this year since it’s been so dry lately.

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The deer make good steaks or whatever…but would be hard to keep the meat this time of year due to rather rapid spoilage.

Much healthier than pork or beef. ((or maybe not if you pour the pork fat on it))

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My favorite “bean” is Scarlet Runner. They are showy red, attract beneficials, are a sweet and huge “bean” boiled then eaten with vinegar and salt, and make huge dried “beans” that make my chili really great.

It is not really the same as our green beans, but it is used like them.

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I grow runner bean too both scarlet and painted lady. I like its flavor. It tastes better than regular green beans

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I like to grow a variety of interesting colors. Something different and a conversation piece, if you will. I’m currently growing bush varieties: dragons toungue, yellow wax, and royal burgundy.

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My beans are struggling this year, most are wilting and dying off at the 2-3 leave stage. First time ever. I am using mostly old seed though so that may be it. Or the new soil in that raised bed, it seems to be very sandy with cow manure; eventually it will be fine after enough years of tilling to incorporate more of the soil that is heavier and higher in clay under it. The potato and pepper plants seem to be loving it though. Of course we have just hit 30 days at over 90 degrees so there is that too. I’m thinking about planting some more in the greens bed now that the season for them is over.
I think Blue Lake bush is the best performer here in all categories. Gina is good but it can’t decide if it wants to be a bush or pole bean, mostly bush with some short runners. I have a few other bush beans from Vermont bean seed but cant remember all the names, Tema is one.

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I have been growing dragon tongue and trilogy mix (purple, yellow and green) from Johnny Seeds. All have been fantastic with the dragon tongue as the standout. I have over 10 lbs harvested this year out of a ten foot row. This is my first year growing these so take it for what it is.

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sorry for the baby boy nip slip LOL!

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I also like Jade. Someone here suggested them to me a few years ago and I ordered some seeds. I like that they are a sturdy plant, do good in heat, are a deep green when cooked, and taste good. I don’t like that they tend to get rust on their leaves and just look bad WAY before the other varieties.

I used to grow Blue Lake only, and I still do but now I have Jade and Strike as well.

I watched a YouTube of a guy I think in North Carolina that grew Strike and they were loaded, picking them in 5 gal buckets.

A very light green bean but really uniform and a very nice bean that also sets well in heat.

I tried a half row of Tendergreen this year and I don’t care for the inconsistency of the bean itself size and shape-wise. But my real beef with it is that it has a fuzzy exterior texture and it makes it a tad harder to wipe off the clinging things like flowers, grass, dirt, etc. Kind of a texture like a soy bean my wife said.

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I’ve grown many different varieties of beans over the years. Some are really good while others were unadapted to my climate or disease susceptible or had other problems. Take Fortex for example. It is a wonderful bean for eating, but has terrible heat tolerance, is disease susceptible, and Japanese Beetles love it. To top it off, Fortex never produces more than a third of the crop of better adapted beans.

Rattlesnake is one of the best adapted pole beans for the deep south with heat and disease tolerance and excellent production. Unfortunately, I don’t like the flavor of Rattlesnake.

I have about 20 different bean varieties in the garden this year. Most are to produce fresh seed, but there are enough Blue Marbutt to eat and to can. I have 2 varieties of nuña beans which have not been commercially released. They are prepared to eat similar to popcorn. These nuña beans are a result of a breeding program that transferred the nuña traits to a temperate adapted bush bean.

Beans (Phaseolus Vulgaris) come in 4 different growth habits. There are pole beans, bush beans, half-runners, and sprawlers. Most bean growers have experience with pole and bush beans and some have grown half-runners. Very few have grown sprawlers such as Zuni Red & Gold or Rio Zappe.

Beans are prepared for eating with 4 different methods. There are snap beans, dry beans, shelly beans, and leather britches beans. Turkey Craw is a beautiful bean that can be used all 4 ways. Most other beans are only used one or at most two different ways. Fortex is a pole snap bean. Calypso is a dry bush bean. Goose is a delicious pole shelly bean. Most of the greasy beans make good leather britches. Sicitalian Black Swamp Bean is kind of unique that it can be snapped and frozen for winter with excellent flavor and texture.

Of the beans I’ve grown, I especially enjoy Burpee’s Tenderpod - conditional that you get the original tenderpod! I also enjoy greasy beans such as Striped Hull Greasy Cutshort which is a superb green bean.

What about varieties that just can’t cut it in my climate? Bird Egg #2 and all of the Andes origin Nuña beans are incapable of producing here.

If you get a wild hair and want to learn more about beans, see if you can find a copy of Beans of New York. They show up from time to time on Ebay.

Here are a couple of places to read about beans and order seed.

https://www.sandhillpreservation.com/beans

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I do not grow Green beans. As a kid growing up we sold green beans & canned. About 4-5 acres worth. We snapped & stringed beans before getting on the school bus in AM & had another bowl to fill when we got home… LOL.
Lets Just say, Beans & Oatmeal know where I stand… But grow what you enjoy…

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