While I spend 90% of my time here on fruit-related threads, I’m thankful we have a category for gardening and I’m confident many of you have gardens. Green beans are one of those things that gardeners can be very passionate about. We all tend to think that the bean we grow is the best green bean there is! For me, that’s long been a “White McCasslin” for a pole bean and a “Tenderette” for bush. I’m still stuck on the Mcasslin and willing to put it up against any pole bean! But I’m rethinking Tenderette. I’ve loved it for its extremely high yields- I get more beans per plant than anything I’ve ever grown. But when it comes to taste, I’m willing to admit it is good but not among the best. So I’m going to try something new this year. I’ve probably tried 20 different varieties over the year, but I’d like to hear from some of you what you grow and love.
So, what do you think is the best Bush bean out there (of course you can also address pole beans if you wish).
We generally use Royal Burgundy as the main crop. It is purple colored (the beans anyway) and so makes seeing them for harvest quite a bit easier. And like many purple colored plants has a bit more cold tolerance than the green or yellow varieties, and is relatively short seasoned too which we need. Very productive and a decent flavor too. And the beans do turn green when you cook them, BTW.
If you are in a warmer climate you may have some longer seasoned choices which have a better taste, but you might want to give Royal Burgundy a try for an early harvest…
Its funny you mention that- I really wanted to try a purple bean that turns green on cooking. There are apparently quite a few out there so I may well give this one a go. Thanks. I’m sure others will come along with their favorites as well.
I like romano bush beans for taste but they are not very productive. Provider is a good bean for production and taste. If you were looking for yield alone top crop is productive but I don’t like the texture or flavor.
Blue Lake for me. I love how they taste, and how the color sets after blanching for freezing. They’re prolific too, and I get tired of picking them by the end - but it’s sure nice to have them in the wintertime.
I make dilly beans out of them too.
I also grew Eureka (wax bean) last year, and even though it seemed to be a little less flavorful to me, I put them in again this year. They make a very nice straight bean that works nice for dilly beans as far as uniformity in the jar. And mixing the Blue Lake with the Eureka is kinda eye appealing too I think. (That Royal Burgundy sounds like something to try!)
Like IowaJer, Eureka is my choice for wax bean. Jade II for my green bush with blue lake s7 for a pole bean. The two bush beans are chosen to bear a concentrated set so they can be pulled at harvest.
This brings up another interesting question. Unlike fruit growing, I’ve been gardening for about 30 years and feel I’m pretty experienced and even good at it. But one thing I’ve heard of all my life but really don’t know what they are is was beans. Why are they called wax beans? How are the different? Just wondering. I’ve always seen them for sale but never grew any.
True wax beans derived their name from their bright yellow/cream white coloration. They are also known as butter beans. Most wax beans will have a satin texture which looks like it has a waxy coating giving them a translucent appearance whether fresh or cooked. They also have a slight different flavor and texture when cooked or canned. My grandparents preferred wax beans for eating and canning.
Thank-you, Ginny. That was very helpful! Also interesting how regional dialect differs. Here in my part of the country when people say “butter beans” they are 100% talking about what others call Lima Beans- and almost always they are green. But I’ve always heard and wondered what wax beans were, so thanks! BTW, here in TN there is a state-wide PBS show called “the barefoot gardener”. Its a guy who is an old hippy in every sense of the word (and in no way is that meant as disparaging- he’d be the first to describe himself that way). He is purely organic and gardens barefoot and its a really neat show. When I saw your username I actually thought it could be him at first! But he probably doesn’t have a computer or even electricity from what I’ve seen of his place.
I love fresh or frozen green beans. Last season, I grew a new to me bush variety, Serengeti French Filet green bean. It is a early maturing bean that kept producing all summer through fall, until a hard frost. Excellent production bean. I had many pickings off of the plants. The beans are very tender fresh or lightly steamed… The bush plants grew around 14" to 17" high. They are a very tasty bean and nearly string less. I would sauté them with garlic and bacon in a bit of butter and grapeseed oil. I also love them with new potatoes and garlic with bacon… I am growing this bean again in my garden…
That is some of the most delicious looking food I’ve ever seen!!! WOW!!!
I can tell by what I’ve seen of your posts that you really would love the barefoot farmer (I was wrong…he is the barefoot farmer and not barefoot gardener". You really owe it to yourself to take 3 minutes and watch one of his videos:
I love this barefoot farmer. I feel we are kindred spirits after watching this video. (And the kid with the hoola hoop… I am a hooper ) Thank you for the link. I love this quote " You cant trust corporations for your families food." So true… That is exactly how I feel!
I will look him up on You Tube for more videos later on this afternoon.
Somehow I just knew you’d be an instant fan of his. I could watch and listen to him all day long and while I don’t always practice what he preaches, I know I should and I agree with everything he says. I guarantee you that just based on what I know of you from this site, the more videos of his you watch, the bigger fan you will become. You’ll soon learn that while he may appear a little rough around the edges, he is a very intelligent guy with a great understanding of not just gardening, but economics, soil science, and much more. I look forward to hearing your thoughts after you’ve seen more videos…I’m certain you’ll become a fan just like I am.
I’m still trying various beans, so many out there. I like Fortex because they are over a foot long. Many are not productive here, and this one is. It produces like crazy. Most do not for me. I’m still figuring beans out. I have had better luck in raised beds. Soil is probably warmer, and more nutritious then ground soil.
) Thank you for the link. I love this quote " You cant trust corporations for your families food." So true… That is exactly how I feel!