beans are happening now

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rxkeith
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beans are happening now

#1

Post: # 76599Unread post rxkeith
Fri Aug 19, 2022 9:05 pm

not much going on in the tomato department here yet, so might as well talk about what IS doing well.
today, i filled up a plastic grocery store bag full of jumbo bush romano beans. had to be at least 5 lbs worth.
jumbo is big for a bush bean. if bigger is better jumbo is the best.

also picked about half as much of blue ribbon bush bean another good one.
already picked once, and due again is cantare, a smaller very good tasting green bean
cantare is early, and is a real work horse of a bean. we have had a small feed so far, and
have a gallon bag in the freezer, probably have another gallon or so to pick, but i will have to wait till the other
beans get processed and or eaten. church members gave me a packet of seeds last year, saying how good a bean it was.
its back for year two in the garden.

i have a couple varieties of yellow beans growing, but nothing to pick yet. i haven't found a solid yellow bush bean that
thrives up here. down state, i could grow anything. its a different world here.

pole beans are my first love. i have grown uncle steve for years, but in order to fill the freezer on a consistent basis
i need to lean on bush beans more so here, due to the short season i have.

thats the beans here. whats going on with all y'all?


keith

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karstopography
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Re: beans are happening now

#2

Post: # 76602Unread post karstopography
Fri Aug 19, 2022 9:56 pm

Mine all burned up sometime in mid June, but we ate a ton in May. I canned a few as pickles. My mom also blanched and froze quite a few from my plot during that time.

I stuck in a few more seeds for bush filet and pole flat romano type the other day for the fall bean growing window here. The Fall window for bean seed planting runs from August into early or mid September. Might plant a few more, undecided at this point. I’m usually less enthusiastic about gardening at the stage of the year and my enthusiasm only picks up again with the arrival of fall weather, generally sometime in October.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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ddsack
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Re: beans are happening now

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Post: # 76645Unread post ddsack
Sat Aug 20, 2022 10:54 am

Keith, my beans are doing well, even though they got planted about as late as I have ever put them in, due to the chilly late spring and not having the garden ready. I planted a twelve foot row each, of three varieties of bush beans , two green, one yellow. And my favorite pole bean, Fortex, has two 8ft rows.

The bush beans started bearing the first week of August just when I was going out of town for a week, so I told my neighbor lady to take all she wanted in exchange for keeping my large pots of tomatoes, eggplants and flowers watered. She must have taken some, because when I got back, there were not as many overgrown ones as I had feared. The Fortex pole beans started in about 10 days later than the bush beans.

New to me were Strike bush beans, as a sub for an out of stock variety I normally grow. They were fine, not too long and uniform, but not outstanding enough to be a repeat. The other green bush were Maxibel, I like the thinness and length. Yellow bush were Gold Rush, I'm not that fond of yellow beans, but will grow them every 3 years or so for some variety in soups and stews and three bean salad. Fortex is the only pole bean I grow anymore. Just the best sweetest taste, no strings, freeze well.

So far in my freezer, I have 13 pint bags of Strike, 8 bags of Maxibel, 9 bags Gold Rush, 16 bags of Fortex. Not sure if I will get any more big hauls from the bush beans, maybe a bag or two to freeze, or just enough to eat, I'm not seeing a lot of blossoms or small beans there. I think the Gold Rush might have another larger picking, but I don't really care to get many more yellows. But Fortex pole vines are looking good and I expect more good pickings. I had to move the Fortex location to my woods garden that doesn't get as much sun, so not ideal spot. (The former pole bean bed with a permanent support fence was in need of soil renovation, and located too close to where the voles hide, they were decapitating the seedlings as soon as they sprouted.) I expect to keep picking Fortex until the weather gets cold.

Vanman
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Re: beans are happening now

#4

Post: # 76648Unread post Vanman
Sat Aug 20, 2022 11:10 am

Are Fortex better than Blue Lake?

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ddsack
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Re: beans are happening now

#5

Post: # 76650Unread post ddsack
Sat Aug 20, 2022 11:26 am

Vanman wrote: Sat Aug 20, 2022 11:10 am Are Fortex better than Blue Lake?
Just my opinion, but have grown Kentucky Wonder, Blue Lake, Emirate and a couple others I can't remember just now, I would say definitely Yes! Fortex have a less "beany" taste when young, more sweetness. With a quick short blanching time, they retain that sweetness after being frozen. No strings. However some people in the deep south say that they do not do well in high heat.

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pepperhead212
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Re: beans are happening now

#6

Post: # 76653Unread post pepperhead212
Sat Aug 20, 2022 12:31 pm

I stopped growing fortex due to the heat. Back in the 80s and 90s they did well here, but it just gets to hot too fast now. Blauhilde and Rattlesnake do well, but eventually the heat in late July stops them. The Thai Red Long bean is much more heat resistant - slower to start, but not as slow as Red Noodle beans, and doesn't seem to hollow out as quickly in severe heat. It's producing very well now, and the other plants are coming back, with the cooler weather, though it's going to be in the low 90s a few times, which shouldn't bother them.

I never plant bush beans - being 6'6", that's not something I want to be leaning over to pick a lot of!
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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JRinPA
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Re: beans are happening now

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Post: # 76690Unread post JRinPA
Sun Aug 21, 2022 1:55 am

Kentucky Wonder, Blue Lake, Emirate
I grew all three of those one year, also rattlesnake and about 15 others from MMMM/tormato swap. It was a mess on three trellises but still a good experience. Rattlesnake were great until they'd get a little too tough. I really love fortex though and could grow that exclusively for a filet bean.

I love fortex but this year I was late getting them in, I guess. The rain stopped and when the other comm gardeners bush beans came up quick, the bean beetles flocked in. And then soon after found my young but superior tasting fortex. At least that is my story.

I never heard that about the high heat and didn't realize fortex were that "old" a bean! Maybe high heat played a part this year but more dryness and timing of bugs, I thought.

I think for the comm garden I'm gonna have to "join'em" and just grow bush beans there. Get them in early and maybe again, covered, around July 4th. Go ahead and skip pole beans every other year. I'm not looking forward to the bending over, or vole damage. Pole beans do great for me at home but get destroyed by the bug pressure at the comm garden. I don't want to grow beans at the house two years in a row due to starting a bean beetle infestation. Since I don't grow two years in a row, at the house I typically don't see them until the end of August, rather than then mid/late July at the comm garden.

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karstopography
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Re: beans are happening now

#8

Post: # 76694Unread post karstopography
Sun Aug 21, 2022 4:44 am

Of the french filet bush beans I’ve grown here, I’d rank them in this order best to worst, Rolande, Maxibel, Velour, Nickel.

Rolande has had the best heat tolerance and production, Maxibel was about as strong heat wise and maybe a little less productive. Both produce nice long full sized filets on multiple flushes that remain tender for a long time. Velour is smaller, but an attractive deep purple color and productive. Nickel was sort of a dud for me. They all taste good. I don’t mind the bend over to pick, it became my morning stretching routine.

Filet Pole beans, Emerite is my favorite and does about like Rolande in the heat. They both can endure heat for a time, but it eventually gets them and deep watering only helps for so long. Carminat has less heat tolerance than Emerite. I had fortex seed, but gave those away.

Flat beans, Northeaster was the most heat tolerant between it and Spanish Musica and Algarve. None of the flat ones hung in quite as well as the filet beans in the heat. I grew Tamara the previous year and that was also good. No complaints on flavor or texture on any of them.

We don’t have heat waves here like up when I lived in New England. Here, the heat builds slowly and steadily through the bean growing period of early spring into early summer. I try to get my beans sowed as soon as I can when the soil is warm enough, hopefully the last week of February or first of March. There are swings up and down on temperatures, but each swing ticks up a degree or two. Prevailing winds of the gulf moderate the temperature swings, but as the gulf water slowly heats up, so do the temperatures. Beans love early April to late May weather here. If I can extend the front end of the season, that’s better because the back end is only a matter of not if but when the relentless extra warmth wears them down. Mid to Late June, it’s over. The exception are the Asian long beans, but those aren’t really the same.

Beans seem to like to not dry out at all so I really try to stay on top of the watering. They like well drained situations, but not be allowed to get wilted from over dry soil. A good rain soaking always perks them up here.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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GoDawgs
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Re: beans are happening now

#9

Post: # 76725Unread post GoDawgs
Sun Aug 21, 2022 10:00 am

These are the fall Blue Lakes three days ago with a separate bed of Providers slightly behind these.

Image

Between deer munching and heat wave we didn't get much from the spring planted beans, just enough for fresh eating. We're hoping the fall beans will make enough for some canning. They seem to be nicer beans in the late summer/fall season anyway.

Pole beans used to grow good here but now bush beans grow better and produce more so that's what I plant now.

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ddsack
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Re: beans are happening now

#10

Post: # 76729Unread post ddsack
Sun Aug 21, 2022 11:23 am

Just a few pictures to compare beans for this year.

This was my first picking after returning from my trip:

Image

The Maxibel are more like my preferred type of long and slender bush bean.

Image

I love the pole beans both because one bean will equal two of the bush kind in length, and picking is so much easier standing up. But I continue to grow bush beans because I depend on freezing a lot of beans for the off season, and I can't risk a crop failure with just one type.

Image

I have two 4'x8' beds like this for the Fortex.

Image

Made a jar of refrigerator dilly beans with a pickle recipe.

Image

rxkeith
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Re: beans are happening now

#11

Post: # 76760Unread post rxkeith
Sun Aug 21, 2022 8:00 pm

well, i was way low on how many cantare beans were out there.
i just picked over 7 lbs of beans. this is from a row about 20 ft long.
and its only just started.


keith

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Re: beans are happening now

#12

Post: # 76768Unread post Uncle_Feist
Sun Aug 21, 2022 9:16 pm

I don't know what these are, but they're tasty.

Image
Image

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ddsack
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Re: beans are happening now

#13

Post: # 76789Unread post ddsack
Mon Aug 22, 2022 9:19 am

@Uncle_Feist Those look like they could be Roma beans, but perhaps there are other similar ones.

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Re: beans are happening now

#14

Post: # 76809Unread post Uncle_Feist
Mon Aug 22, 2022 3:02 pm

ddsack wrote: Mon Aug 22, 2022 9:19 am @Uncle_Feist Those look like they could be Roma beans, but perhaps there are other similar ones.
Not a Roma, it's a big thick pole bean, extra large plant with khaki colored seed.

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ddsack
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Re: beans are happening now

#15

Post: # 76833Unread post ddsack
Mon Aug 22, 2022 9:48 pm

Interesting, have you been saving seeds for them yourself for a long time?

There are pole Romano's, something like this https://www.trueleafmarket.com/products ... grEALw_wcB

NarnianGarden
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Re: beans are happening now

#16

Post: # 76890Unread post NarnianGarden
Tue Aug 23, 2022 2:43 pm

Wow, you guys are such fruitful growers!!

I finally harvested my first runner beans today, and yes they were a nice addition to the veggie stew...
But not something to feed a family with..

I could see there were around six new pods hanging on the branches, but probably not an achievement :lol:

Next year, I might just focus on tomatoes... at least, they like to grow and produce fruits!

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Re: beans are happening now

#17

Post: # 76899Unread post Uncle_Feist
Tue Aug 23, 2022 5:43 pm

ddsack wrote: Mon Aug 22, 2022 9:48 pm Interesting, have you been saving seeds for them yourself for a long time?

There are pole Romano's, something like this https://www.trueleafmarket.com/products ... grEALw_wcB
The original seed came from Magoffin Co KY in the 1980's. I grow it from time to time to refresh the seed and to can when I have enough empty widemouth quart jars to hold em. It's almost impossible to can em in regular quart jars. It's also a heavy producer that my family really enjoys.

I'll add that wide, flat stringless Italian types of beans are generally referred to as romanos. These beans have heavy double strings in all but the immature stage.

rxkeith
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Re: beans are happening now

#18

Post: # 76974Unread post rxkeith
Wed Aug 24, 2022 7:28 pm

i picked a few gold crop yellow beans this evening.
the bean itself is good for a yellow bean, but the plant can't stay upright with a bean load.
last year the plants got blown around. i lost about half of them when they snapped off at the base.
this year i am growing them at the base of my pole bean fence on the back side. more protection there,
but they still flop over. gold crop will not be a main cropper for me. too windy here for it. just not tough enuff.



keith

rxkeith
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Re: beans are happening now

#19

Post: # 77048Unread post rxkeith
Thu Aug 25, 2022 2:47 pm

i picked a few gold crop yellow beans this evening.
the bean itself is good for a yellow bean, but the plant can't stay upright with a bean load.
last year the plants got blown around. i lost about half of them when they snapped off at the base.
this year i am growing them at the base of my pole bean fence on the back side. more protection there,
but they still flop over. gold crop will not be a main cropper for me. too windy here for it. just not tough enuff.

i picked some beurre de roquencourt, best i can do with the spelling without looking it up. seeds were from sandhill preservation.
these beans are in a tough spot. i planted them on the back side of the snap peas thinking there would be plenty of space, but then
some of the peas went over top, and bent over. some cherry tomatoes that are beyond control now are sneaking over, and saying howdy.
then there is the sweet fall squash, outstanding flavor according to glen at sandhill that is bulldozing it way through at the other end taking
no prisoners. we will be cooking some of the beans tonight. i haven't tried these yet.

also picked another four lbs of blue ribbon beans. there are still jumbo, and cantare beans to pick, but you can only pick so much at once.
looks like we will be making dilly beans soon. freezer space is at a premium.

need any more beans there gotch?

keith

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