Most commercial green bean cultivars grown today are bush-type.
This is primarily because they are mechanically harvested.
Pole beans and half runner beans tend to have more flavor.
Additionally, pole beans mature throughout the growing season and
therefore yield a larger overall harvest in the same amount of
garden space as bush-type beans. A ten-foot row of pole
beans should provide the average family of three or four with
fresh beans about twice a week through the season.
The plants are beautiful and aggressively climb five to seven
feet, have yellowish stems and white flowers. The pods
contain three to five seeds, are four to five inches long, flat,
smooth, and yellow resembling wax-type beans. The seeds are
brown with a little white splattering.
Kentucky Wonder
(Old Homestead)
68 Days — A green pole bean with long,
fleshy, and stringless pods. Very reliable, early
maturing, and productive. An old favorite enjoyed fresh, canned, dried, or frozen.
The seeds can also be used dry as an excellent baking bean.
About 75 seeds per ounce.
Kentucky Wonder
Wax
70 Days — An old all-purpose pole variety. Very prolific yields
of six to nine inch, slightly oval-shaped, golden pods that are almost stringless.
About 70 seeds per ounce.
McCaslan
66 Days — An old Southern favorite introduced in 1912 by
the McCaslan family of Georgia who had raised it for many years
prior. The vines produce prolifically throughout the growing
season. Its pods are up to eight inches long and used as
snap (green) beans or shelled. The seeds are plump and
white. About 80 seeds per ounce.
Riggin's
Stick 68 Days (100 to dry stage)
— Sent to us by
Mark Chappel who told us that his family in Kentucky, on his mother's side,
have handed down these beans
since before the civil war. They simply called them "Stick
Beans" as
tobacco sticks were used as support for the heavy vines
to climb on. The stick beans are a favorite and they have a real "beany",
almost meaty flavor. Very productive. About 60 seeds
per ounce. Very Rare.
Romano
Pole (Italian Flat)
70 Days — Popular in Europe. Plants are six feet
tall with thick, flat, medium green, stringless pods that are 3/4 inches
by six inches long. Pods are best eaten when young.
About 40 seeds per ounce.
Valena
Italian
75 to 90 days — This bean is a family heirloom handed down to us from
my wife's Grandfather who is first generation
American. Relatives in Italy are still growing this
variety. It appears to have a diverse history.
A friend in Canada contacted us
with a story about a seemingly identical variety. It was called 'Kanawake Mohawk' bean and supposed to
have arrived in la Nouvelle-France with the Jesuits.
'Valena'
is a dual-purpose
variety that can be used young as a green bean or
dried. The pods are flat and green when young
turning tan with maroon streaks as they mature. The
seeds are large, egg-shaped and tan with darker brown
streaks. The image above shows the bean at various
stages of development. About 35 seeds per ounce.
White
Emergo(Sweet
White Runner Bean)
80 days — Similar to 'Scarlet
Runner' but with white flowers. Vigorous growth with
prolific yields of long, slender pods. The beans are quite
good when pods are picked young and tender. They are full of
flavor and fleshy with a fine texture. Pick regularly to
ensure a continuous crop
Runner
beans grow well in almost any soil but benefit from soil that has
been well-dug and manured. Support growing plants with
canes, netting or bean frames.
About 25 to 30 seeds per ounce.
Indicates New Variety for 2008
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