Had my second big pot of beans last night. The first had no flavor so last night I got the pot ready and went out and picked a big load of beans at the last second. They were horrible. If you can call them that. They were nothing. They had no flavor what-so-ever. NONE. I can get much better beans at the grocery store. They were fun to watch, were a beautiful plant and grew well in the EB. The whole point was, tho, to get a tasty meal. Im goign to try some dragons tounge next year. No more green beans. I dont know if its the soil, the heat, or just bad beans.
They are now compost, I will plant okra in the box.
Bye bye beans
What variety did you grow?
Dragon Tongue are awesome indeed, and I will always grow lots of them, but I also liked Triomphe de Farcy which are a green French filet bean. At least early in the season I pick them when they are small, thinner than a pencil, and they produce lots. But of course as the season wears on I get tired of picking and some of them get big like a green bean and they are still good. I also plan to keep experimenting with yellow wax beans to find a productive one. Brittle Wax is ubiquitous on the Burpee racks but not particularly productive for me. A market gardener suggested Goldenrod to me. But if someone has limited space, then I'd always do Dragon Tongue.
And last year I saved seeds of DT and they all came up just fine this year and were true to type. The hardest part is getting the seeds dry quickly.
Green beans are sort of like carrots to me. I grew carrots, Red-cored Chantenay and Nantes Half Long both because they are short varieties and I have raised beds on top of clay. I was happy with the harvest I got considering how fussy they can be for loose, well-amended (but not too amended) soil. They were good, but would I say they were worth the space and time? I'm not sure on that. Too bad my golden beets didn't come up. That's what I really consider a stand out root crop. And parsnips which are my favorite are a challenge in Houston. Hmm...
This message was edited Jun 4, 2008 7:41 AM
These were just plain HD seedlings. I got my EB's set up and didnt have time to grow my own. That wont happen again. I noticed some people complaing that their squash didnt have any flavor. Turned out they were the hybridzed newer ones. I dont know what is going on with the beans, but I will for sure be trying some of your favorites.
I've been happy with Jade, a green bush bean.
Some more recommendations:
Filet Morgane
Fortex
Kentucky Wonder
Romano
All my beans have always been worth the effort. I've never used store brought bean seedlings. In fact, I don't think I've ever used transplants at all. Not sure if that is the root of your problem. Probably more the varieties you grew.
I would certainly encourage you to try again.
BB
O yes, try again I will.
I have grown ramano, very good. Same with kentucky wonder. Even from the grocery store, I have never had such a no taste what-so-ever bean. I am going to try some more in the fall.
I soak seeds for a few minutes and then plant 1 inch deep and water well with a misting nozzle. They pop up a week later or so. I always get good germination.
The best green bean I have ever tasted is Kwintus aka Early Riser
It is a flat romano pole type.
Finally getting a crop after planting three times
This message was edited Jun 5, 2008 2:33 PM
This message was edited Jun 5, 2008 6:59 PM