Bush beans

I've been a complete failure at growing bush beans. I had one plant going great then it just gave up the ghost, turned brown, died. I have a tepary bean plant started but it has been swallowed by the 2 Atkinson tomato plants. Bad bean mom! :-|

greenhouse_gal - Raspberries! I haven't had a home-grown raspberry since leaving Tennessee in 1977! The ones sold in the supermarket are awful.

I don't think raspberries will grow this far south - although I would hesitate to plant them here because they can be invasive and I have enough invasives to deal with already.

During our walk this morning, Daughter and I saw lots of blackberries - they were still unripe, but plenty of them. Unfortunately, the wild life usually gets them before we do - they get up earlier LOL

Hmm... just had a thought - there are some woods back of our property - perhaps I could encourage some blackberries to grow there...

We could have a blackberry -v- running bamboo competition!

Blackberries would be good planted in the woods, if you could keep the wildlife away from them.

I didn't realize that raspberries wouldn't grow further south. It gets pretty hot here in the summer and yet we're going to have a bumper crop.

I just realized that I am talking about pole beans, not bush beans; uh oh!

greenhouse_gal - I don't think it gets cold enough here for raspberries.

Pole beans: I'm growing Fortex and prefer them to others I've tried. I'm only growing bush beans this summer because I had seed left over from 2009.

Honeybee, the sources for raspberries that I just checked say that they are good for zones 4-8; I am assuming that's inclusive.

I had some great Pelandron bush beans that I got from France and I grew them for years, but I think they started crossing with my Fortex because some of my pole beans had Pelandron-like purple blotches on them last year. So I got a new package of Fortex beans for this year and didn't plant the Pelandron, since I've still got some beans in the freezer from last year. Pelandron was really good, though - flavorful and stringless and very long-bearing for a bush bean.

I started a 6 pack of bush beans and only one grew into a plant. I would like to stagger the crop, but as we noted above, the harvest from just a few plants is just enough to snack on.

I am looking forward to the Italian purple pole bean. It does sound yummy and I think it will produce until late summer.

I am still trying to work out formation(s) for the ebuckets/bamboo teepees/wood arbor thingee I am going to have to build to support all these plants. Thanks for all the info on beans.

p.s. Last Saturday I started some scarlet runner beans for flowers mostly (did I say this already?) and they are well over 14" high already.

Honeybee, I have raspberries growing here, as do others in the area so I'm sure they'll grow for you also. Dang deer tend to eat the vines all the time though so I seldom get berries these past few years. These are the black raspberries and have been growing on this land since at least the '20s.

Back to beans, I've got both bush and pole going. Always grow both each year. Have had several meals from my Romano type pole already, love 'em! Just sowed several more hundred feet of bush beans last week and in spite of no rain they germed in only 5 days. They're up and getting ready to take off. Will probably have to spray them for deer though as those critters have eaten my first several rows of beans and butterpeas down to the nubs. Pesky critters!

Shoe

Shoe, did you soak the seed overnight before sowing the bush beans? Maybe I could try germ'ing some now, I have a raised bed looking for tenants. The bean seeds I have are Vernandon filet-bush. I was so looking forward to harvesting some. Thanks for the idea of a mid-season planting replenishment Shoe.

#1280 Vernandon Filet Bush Beans: 50-60 days
Filet beans are a gourmet gardener’s dream come true and Vernandon is an authentic haricot vert, coming to us from a private breeder in France. Vernandon produces heavily on disease-resistant plants, yielding a bounty of thin filets with an exceptional uniformity, ‘meaty’ texture and delicate, rich flavor. Harvest using scissors or kitchen snips, between 1/6” and 1/4” wide and about 6” long. No bigger! Filet beans like this are nearly impossible to buy at the market. These elegant beans are so very delicious. We like them best lightly steamed and served simply with butter and a little sprinkle of salt. (OP.)....John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds

Shoe - this link explains the reason why raspberries do not grow well here. There are not enough "chilling hours" You are indeed fortunate to have an old variety that has adapted to your local conditions.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/ag569.html#varieties

Thanks, Honeybee. From what I read on that link (and I love NCSU research papers!) is that raspberries can be grown from the coastal plains across the state into the mountains. The idea is to pick the most suitable varieties for your area. They give quite a number of varieties.

I noticed there was not much mention of the black raspberries, which apparently are more suited for our fluctuating temps. If you like I'd be happy to dig up some canes and send you some.

Mary, nope I didn't soak the bean seed overnight and don't recommend anyone soaking them for that long. They tend to get too puffed up and will rot in the ground if too wet. If you want to jump start some you can soak for 10 or 20 minutes, then drain, then sow. OR, do as I did w/the pinto beans I mentioned above, start some in a wet paper towel and when they germ then set them out in your garden. (I couldn't throw the germ test beans away so put them in one of my boxed beds and they broke ground a few days later.) The other beans I sowed, "Top Crop" were not soaked but sowed directly into the soil. I think the heat of the soil and the little bit of moisture in it got them going pretty fast.

I've never grown "Vernandin" variety but have grown haricot verts in the past. They're great for fresh eating but I think I like a standard bean for canning.

All in all, I think you should go ahead and sow some seeds, baring your Texas temps and grow out schedule is acceptable now.

Shoe

I sowed some Purple Podded (pre 1775) and Negro Beans(pre 1645) and some Chinese longbeans last Sunday and as of yesterday they're all up. The Negro Beans were so beautiful it was painful to plant them. They looked like pieces of polished Japanese laquer. They made about 2 inches over night. The Chinese longs are starting to wrap around their poles. They tend to just shoot up and start producing while you look at them. I have them on 8' poles surrounding my deck which they'll cover and then start working on covering the deck railing. I don't know why they're so expensive in the grocery store as they're so prolific unless its because they do tend to be rather perishable. You really do need to be able to buy them in Chinatown or grow them your self to get good ones. I also had planted some Blue lakes and Contenders the same day and they just broke ground yesterday the Blue lakes were up first. I have a couple blue lakes producing, but haven't gotten any picked. I'll have to do it today. I've been pretty much layed up with a tooth that went from a bridge that went bad to a root canal to a pulled tooth to a bone graph and now looking at 2 implants in the space of 3 hours. Between the pain and the pain meds I don't know which is going to do me in first. I'm driving my daughter back and forth to summer school (1 hr. one way trip in D.C. traffic) so I dare not take my pain meds till I get back home with her in the p.m., so I hole up in a nearby Starbucks and pray for death until its time to pick her up. The swelling is squeezing the facial nerve that feeds my right ear, so you can just imagine. I was out looking at my garden yesterday, I'm just going to have to drug my self up today and get out there and get things done or mother nature is going to take over.

Mary

Try the Chinese longs. Heat doesn't stop them. In fact they grow all the stronger, you can almost watch them growing like bamboo.

Yehudith, it sounds as though you're going through an awful time. I hope you get some relief soon!

ugh, dental problems are some of the worst pain. Sorry you are suffering, hopefully it will pass soon.

I don't have any long bean seeds, have lima and a few others though. I'll sow the vernandin's today. Maybe some others as well. Thanks all.

Shoe - I would be delighted to have you send me some raspberry canes. I'll send you a d-mail with my address. I'm guessing September/October might be a good planting date?

The bush beans I have are also "Top Crop". I've noticed the ones that get the most sun also produce the most beans. Our trees shade the garden at various times of the day.

yehudith - I sure hope your pain issues are resolved quickly.

As it turned out I found some "Red Long Noodle Bean" seeds. Sounds interesting. I planted a half dozen or so in three different beds and a few of the Vernandin's.

Please try the japanese long and the red noodle, they need a trellis, but they are like cast iron, the heat does not effect them and they will produce for the whole season. Plus the hummers like the flowers. I freeze mine, and share the rest with the neighbors. This year I planted a lot of the long beans, so will sell them at the local farmer's market.
It takes some talking to get people to try them, but after words they come back looking for more.

Where would one find these? I had access to a heirloom seed catalog which I recently recycled (I think). At that point I didn't think I'd have such interest in beans!

Shoe - I am making some ebuckets but with the hand injury it's slow going to gather parts and such. I just finished making 5 of them yesterday, and I am delighted with the result - won't even care how the plants do in 'em. If I were planting beans in containers what would you recommend for our zone?

The area where my "water table"/"vegetable table" is located I think I am designating for beans. It is concrete poured semi-enclosed area next to the house where there probably used to be an external gas or oil tank for heating. It's a great little space. The south -west facing side does seem to get full sun most of the day.

This is where I will set up my trellises. Just wondered about containers. I have several of the BlueLake I started and now the trionfono red italian pole beans I picked up over the weekend. I have several seedlings of the scarlet runner beans over 12" but I take it they are used more for their ornamental qualities than for food-bearing.

As you know I am off to a VERY late start due to my hand injury at work. Going back to the specialist today. Will keep you posted.

A.

Amanda, there are many varieties of "long beans" and easily available through many seed suppliers. I'd start with Johnny's Seeds, Seed Savers Exchange, Seeds From Italy, Harris Seeds, etc. You might want to get them quick though as it is near our cut-off date for sowing pole beans. 'Long beans' are not to be confused with your trionfono red italian pole beans, they are entirely different beans.

As for E-buckets, I'd use those more for tomato/pepper/eggplants and such since beans can be easily grown directly in the ground. However, if you want to go with the buckets any bush beans will do fine, just wouldn't be able to plant many in them. If you construct a trellis or can put poles/string up near your buckets pole beans may do fine also. Just get those pole beans started soon.

As for Scarlet Runner beans, they produce fairly decent when the weather is cooler, not so much during our summers. The beans are certainly edible but production is not much compared to more heat tolerant beans. I'd go ahead and plant your seedlings somewhere, maybe in your flower bed because by the time they start flowering it will be cooler at night and you just may get some nice beans from them.

Shoe

Sorry about the Lawyer joke, Amanda!

Corey


This message was edited Jun 27, 2011 4:33 PM

Corey - I LOVE lawyer jokes.

A.

p.s. BUT I hate it when you spell my name wrong. :P

Better?

Ceroy

:D

Thanks!

Got to git to plantin' my beans!!!

Since it's so late I am going to stick with my bush beans and the purple pole beans. Thanks for the education. I am still very excited about growing vertically in ebuckets (mostly) to "beat" the 4 legged critters to my produce. :)

What kind of four-legged critters imperil your produce? We have fences that work pretty well.

Small rodents. Hard to keep 'em off anything. Starting with the have-a-hart trap today. Things are just getting a little too crawly around here. I guess it's from feeding the birds at this new house for the past 3 years. Word gets out!

I highly recommend a barn cat. My friends who are professional birders (they write books and do workshops) don't approve, but otherwise we'd be overrun with voles and muskrats and other soft furry critters who love my plants.