2013 pole beans

Doug, these are seeds from a reliable online source- I think it was Kitazawa Seeds. I have other plants from the same packet that are growing normally.

[Doug9345]

I'm going to go with a stray seed in the packing process.

[Worth1]

The question remains, do you like them?

The curly beans that is.

Worth

[habitat_gardener]

Bean update! I cooked a whole bunch today, separately so I could compare the cooked flavors, and here are the standouts. Most of these are from a different garden.

Helda Romano and Goldmarie were the sweetest! Incredible flavor, slight edge to Helda. They're from the garden where the beans aren't doing as well, though I planted Helda before and had huge harvests. Last year, Helda was one of my favorites as a raw bean, and not a lot made it indoors.

Jeminez had a nice strong savory flavor. It's another large flat bean.

North Carolina Speckled Greasy Cut Short finally started producing in the past week -- very late! This too is from the garden with few beans. Almost every other bean is pretty much done there. It has a nice strong green-beany flavor.

Surprisingly, a runner bean from a neighbor's garden (white flowered) held its own. Good flavor, more green than beany.

Finally, Blue Coco had a nice strong pleasant flavor.

The rest of the beans were just ok, including some of the ones that were exceptional earlier in the season -- Sultan's Green Crescent, Bosnian, Bush Romano. The pole beans were a lot smaller than earlier and had bigger seed bumps, though.

[shelleybean]

I'll be trying Helda next year. Looking forward to them! Thanks!

[ddsack]

I really liked Rattlesnake but this year the Rattlesnakes hardly have any coloring and are developing strings even when rather small. The seed is from a different source this year so I'm wondering if it's that or just the differences in the weather.

I had a lot of unstriped or barely striped Rattlesnake beans also. I think I got them from Sand Hill. Can't remember if I planted my own saved beans or had beans left in the old packet from last year, but I didn't think they had much color last year either. The first picking was good, but later it seems like they "bean up" too fast and get stringy when just medium sized. Could have been due to our dry spell and hot weather. I am letting them go to seed - has anyone cooked them as dry beans? How did they taste? My favorite pole bean remains Fortex, for taste, productivity and earliness.

[kath]

Thanks for the bean update! The Helda Romano sounds like one I might need to try next year. Is it possibly the same as Helda? Looking at the info and pics online it seems that might be the case but I can't seem to find a definitive answer. Did you have a commercial source for your seed of this one?

kath

[shelleybean]

Kath, yes, these are the same bean. I got my seed from Vermont Bean. They're the only source I know for the peas I grow, so I added the Helda to my order.

[kath]

Originally Posted by shelleybean

Kath, yes, these are the same bean. I got my seed from Vermont Bean. They're the only source I know for the peas I grow, so I added the Helda to my order.

Thanks, Michelle, that's a great thing to know- and yes, I was thinking ahead as to where I could purchase them- hopefully along with something else that I "need".

[NewWestGardener]

The best pole beans I've grown is Smeraldo, from Park seed.
http://parkseed.com/bean-smeraldo/p/05015/

Huge long green flat pods that remain tender even after the pods buldges up. I am growing them all for seeds this year, no harvest, so I can share the seeds with people.

I am also growing Liberty runner beans from Robinson's from UK.
http://www.mammothonion.co.uk/shop/14/index.htm
I paid more for shipping than the 10-seed package, but they are outstanding. My beans are about 1 foot long, not the 2 they claimed. but they are early and vigorous, outproducing my regular Scarlet runner by far.

I grew Purple Peacock and Rattel Snakes as well. I like them for giving away to friends for their unique looks.

I wonder if anyone wants to do a small scale seed swap for the beans. Trading the winners in our gardens.

[ddsack]

NewWest - have you had a chance to freeze any Smeraldo yet? I'd be interested to know how they hold up. They look like the flat Romano bush beans I grow. I think there is a pole version as well, though I have not tried it. I love the Romano beans fresh, but they are too delicate to freeze well, and turn to mush when thawed. Still fine for soup, of course. If the Smeraldo's can pass the freezer test, they sound like one I might try.

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by NewWestGardener

...I wonder if anyone wants to do a small scale seed swap for the beans. Trading the winners in our gardens.

Sure! I may have enough for only one trade of some beans, and I need to find someone who has a chest freezer so I can make sure I'm not spreading weevils around.

Also, another site has a bean swap coming up in Oct-Nov.

[Father'sDaughter]

I had fantastic results with the white seeded Super Marconi beans from Seeds of Italy this year. I grew the Franchi black seeded ones the previous two years with okay results. The white seeded (non-Franchi) variety did great -- high yield, started producing a lot earlier, is still producing, and they cooked up nice and tender and "creamy." I have a few bags in the freezer, but haven't cooked any up yet to see how they hold up. Will definitely grow these again next year.

[NewWestGardener]

ddsack, I have not tried freezing, so can't comment on that. They have a tender texture, they might turn mushy. I kinda feel the skinny round beans would freeze better, runners might as well.

[FaithHopeLove]

I've been trying to find any variety of Greasy beans and they are hard to find and a lot of vendors are out of stock. If anyone knows where I can get some please PM me. I'll be planting beans here soon and want to try some!