Anyone trialing new beans, growing long-time favorites or have other big bean plans this year?
I was planning on a fifteen-foot row of pole beans on a trellis and decided to trial a bunch of varieties. This included some I’ve grown before and some from trades or purchases 5 or more years back that I hadn’t gotten around to growing. Some were probably closer to 10 years old.
I got a bit of a late start (early June), but here is the trellis with the beans just hitting the top and starting to flower and produce.
Varieties I’m growing (3-5 plants of each):
Rattlesnake - long time favorite, with great flavor and production and does well here in hot/humid 8A. A good reference for me to judge the others by. Seeds look like large pinto beans
Blue Loco - seeds from a trade. Chocolate (coco) colored seeds.
Grandma Roberts Purple pole - seeds from a trade - is this from @Fusion_power 's Grandma? I think these seeds were chocolate colored as well.
Headrick Greasy Cut-Short - seeds from a trade - a heirlooom from Harlan County, KY originating from Tony Headrick. Brown seeds with darker flecks (like pintos) that are cut-short (ends are compressed from pushing against adjacent seeds in the pods).
Cherokee Trail of Tears - originally from a trade, I’ve grown these before and they are a very good bean that is supposed to have been preserved by the Cherokee during their forced relocation, although I don’t know if this is confirmed
Emelia’s Italian - seeds from a trade, but I don’t know much about it except that it may have been brought over by someone named Elemia… Seed looks like a fat pinto bean.
Uncle Steve’s Italian - seeds from a trade, obviously this one came over with Uncle Steve? Seed looks like a fat pinto bean.
Red Noodle - an Asian long bean I’ve grown on and off for while. Great production in the heat of summer when others take a break. Cool color (red/burgandy) which they mostly keep when cooked. Brown seeds.
Taiwan - an Asian long bean I’ve grown once before. Light green with a red or brown tip. If I remember correctly, I think I preferred the flavor and texture of this one over Red Noodle. Black seeds.
Kurajuraku - from a trade, which is supposed to be a dark green long bean. Black seeds.
So far the only ones far enough along for regular picking are Rattlesnake and Grandma Roberts purple. Rattlesnake is great as always, but Grandma Roberts is pretty close with nice growth and very tasty beans. Trail of tears has a few small beans, but the other “regular” types are just now setting flower buds. Headrick looks to be the latest, which is consistent with previous times I’ve grown greasy beans - they just seem to take a long time and then produce a bumper crop through fall.
Taiwan is putting out a few that are a couple days away from picking, but the other 2 long beans are just setting the first flower buds.
Old seed that failed to germinate included, Blue Marbutt, a white seeded cut-short greasy bean I’d grown a few times and was very good, Lazy Wife Greasy and Meraviglia di Venezia. I was particularly disappointed not to be trying Blue Marbutt. Meraviglia di Venezia had sounded interesting since I liked the idea of a yellow bean that was a big flat bean… oh well.
