Green Beans
Green beans, string beans, and snap beans all refer to the same popular bean that is commonly grown in home gardens. French green beans, called Haricot Vert, are thin, crisp and tender. Italian green beans are broad and relatively flat. Wax beans are yellow and some people, including myself, find them tenderer than green beans. I like to grow wax beans because they look attractive served with green beans either as a vegetable side dish or in Three Bean Salad.
Once you have decided to grow snap beans, you have to decide whether you want bush beans or pole beans. There are advantages to both kinds but the size of your garden and your time management constraints will probably influence you one way or the other. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each:
Bush Beans
Advantages:
-low growing and bush like so no supports are needed
-mature earlier than pole beans (about 57 days)
Disadvantages:
-must be sown through out the growing season about every 2 weeks in order to ensure a continual supply
Recommended Cultivars: (NB Some beans come in both a bush and pole variety so check the package)
‘Blue Lake 274’ (58 days to harvest; plump, tender pods; resistant to bean mosaic)
‘Bush Kentucky Wonder’ (57 days; long, flattened pods)
‘Derby’ (57 days; 1990 AAS winner; slim, tender, prolific; excellent pods)
‘Top Notch Golden Wax (52 days; bright yellow)
‘Triomphe de Farcy’ (80 days; French haricot vert heirloom)
Pole Beans
Advantages:
-one sowing will provide beans all season
-easy to harvest because of height (little bending over)
Disadvantages:
-a support such as a teepee of stalks must be provided for the tall vines
-need more time to mature (about 65 days)
Recommended Cultivars: (NB Some beans come in both a bush and pole variety so check the package)
‘Blue Lake’(65 days to harvest; oval, straight, stringless, juicy and tender pods; resistant to bean mosaic)
‘Kentucky Blue’ (65 days; AAS Winner; round; 7 inch pods)
‘Kentucky Wonder’ (65 days; fine flavor, 9 inch pods in clusters)
‘Romano’ (70 days; stringless; classic broad, Italian style green bean with meaty flavor)
Whatever bean you select you will find that your bean crop will be rewarding, second only to your tomato crop!
