Types of beans

**tomatoaddict** · July 4, 2007

This is my first year growing pole beans. I am growing Kwintas and a purple Italian.
I had some questions on the types of beans and what they mean. I have read of shelling beans, pole beans, drying beans. Could someone please explain the differences in the types of beans for me?
Thanks,
Terry8)

feldon30 · July 4, 2007

Pole beans have an indeterminate growing habit. They need a 6-8 foot tall trellis to climb. They will give 2-3 crops over an extended period of time.

Bush beans have a determinate growing habit. They are generally self-supporting "tree" type plants. They will give one big crop and then a slowly declining smaller crop over a relatively short period.

Originally, the majority of beans in home gardens were pole beans because of the gradual crop that was good for several meals. Then farming switched to bush beans which were ideal for machine harvesting. Now, most beans grown in home gardens are bush beans.

It has been said that there is an bush equivalent for nearly every pole variety and vice versa.

Snap beans are simply any bean like a green bean that you pick when the seeds inside the pods are not "bulging" or mature.

Shelling beans are any beans where you let the seeds grow to maturity (noticeably bulging inside the pod or even until the pod is dried out and papery) and discard the pod. An example is rattlesnake or kidney beans where the beans themselves are important but the pod is not. Some beans are good as both snap beans and shelling beans (Dragon Tongue), some are better as snap beans (Fortex, Contender), and best for shelling (Rattlesnake).

I think drying beans is just another word for shelling beans.

**tomatoaddict** · July 4, 2007

Thanks so much Feldon

... That helps immensely.

Ruth_10 · July 5, 2007

A shelling bean, plump and still tender, is taken out of the pod and cooked, sort of like shelling peas and cooking the peas. A drying bean is one that is generally left in the pod until it is very mature and the bean (seed) is quite hard and mostly or entirely dry. Most drying beans are left on the plant until the plant itself is dead. At that point the pods are dry as well and can be crushed by hand to release the dry beans. Oftentimes further drying of the "dry" beans is required to prevent mold when they are stored.

Most beans can, in theory, be used either as young and tender pods, as more mature shelling beans, or left in the field to dry. However, some varieties are better than others for each intended use.

Pole beans are thought by many to be the best tasting (as compared to bush beans) and offer a continuous harvest over the summer, but they do require trellising as they can climb way high. It's not hard to see where "Jack and the Beanstalk" came from. I like both bush and pole beans. They're all good, IMO.

July 4, 2007	#1
tomatoaddict Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: zone 5 Posts: 1,459	Types of beans This is my first year growing pole beans. I am growing Kwintas and a purple Italian. I had some questions on the types of beans and what they mean. I have read of shelling beans, pole beans, drying beans. Could someone please explain the differences in the types of beans for me? Thanks, Terry8) __________________ Secretseedcartel.com

July 4, 2007	#2
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	Pole beans have an indeterminate growing habit. They need a 6-8 foot tall trellis to climb. They will give 2-3 crops over an extended period of time. Bush beans have a determinate growing habit. They are generally self-supporting "tree" type plants. They will give one big crop and then a slowly declining smaller crop over a relatively short period. Originally, the majority of beans in home gardens were pole beans because of the gradual crop that was good for several meals. Then farming switched to bush beans which were ideal for machine harvesting. Now, most beans grown in home gardens are bush beans. It has been said that there is an bush equivalent for nearly every pole variety and vice versa. Snap beans are simply any bean like a green bean that you pick when the seeds inside the pods are not "bulging" or mature. Shelling beans are any beans where you let the seeds grow to maturity (noticeably bulging inside the pod or even until the pod is dried out and papery) and discard the pod. An example is rattlesnake or kidney beans where the beans themselves are important but the pod is not. Some beans are good as both snap beans and shelling beans (Dragon Tongue), some are better as snap beans (Fortex, Contender), and best for shelling (Rattlesnake). I think drying beans is just another word for shelling beans. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

July 4, 2007	#3
tomatoaddict Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: zone 5 Posts: 1,459	Thanks so much Feldon... That helps immensely. __________________ Secretseedcartel.com

July 5, 2007	#4
Ruth_10 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MO z6a near St. Louis Posts: 1,349	A shelling bean, plump and still tender, is taken out of the pod and cooked, sort of like shelling peas and cooking the peas. A drying bean is one that is generally left in the pod until it is very mature and the bean (seed) is quite hard and mostly or entirely dry. Most drying beans are left on the plant until the plant itself is dead. At that point the pods are dry as well and can be crushed by hand to release the dry beans. Oftentimes further drying of the "dry" beans is required to prevent mold when they are stored. Most beans can, in theory, be used either as young and tender pods, as more mature shelling beans, or left in the field to dry. However, some varieties are better than others for each intended use. Pole beans are thought by many to be the best tasting (as compared to bush beans) and offer a continuous harvest over the summer, but they do require trellising as they can climb way high. It's not hard to see where "Jack and the Beanstalk" came from. I like both bush and pole beans. They're all good, IMO. __________________ --Ruth Some say the glass half-full. Others say the glass is half-empty. To an engineer, it’s twice as big as it needs to be.