Quote:
Originally Posted by kayrobbins
Larry I can't say enough about Kentucky Wonder. I have grown Contender for years mainly because I did not want to have to trellis the beans. I had some fairly good crops but always had issues with pests and disease. I planted Kentucky Wonder this year and am having the best bean crop ever. Because the leaves don't touch the soil so many problems are avoided. I am still harvesting constantly.
If you decide to buy those seeds, I recommend you get them from High Mowing. When you buy the little packets there is hardly enough to plant and shipping is high for the amount you get. High Mowing has free shipping and I bought 1/2 pound which is enough for two seasons.
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My possible choice of bean varieties to grow is currently in continual flux. I have 15 bean poles in raised beds and an 18 bean pole structure in native soil. Rattlesnake has been a real work horse in native soil. But Rattlesnake while tolerant of poor soil and heat doesn't seem to be particularly disease resistant. Also, almost all commonly grown pole beans appear to have quite poor disease resistance. This appears to include Kentucky Wonder Pole variety, which at least has a resistance to rust but not much else.
After many searches for information on disease resistance of pole varieties I found a post that I'm sure I have read in the past but didn't remember. The post is by Fusion_power (Dar Jones) and addresses this issue of disease resistance including nematodes and heat among pole bean varieties. The information in this post seems to me to be of great value to folks like me who are trying to do their best to grow pole beans in a difficult environment such as Central Florida.
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discuss...ur-suggestions
I am thinking of giving Blue Marbut a try in compost raised beds and Blue Marbut and Tobacco Worm a try in native soil.
And the search goes on.
Larry