I would like to try some different dry shelling beans this year. Any suggestions? I have grown black eye peas and the pink ones. Christmas Lima Beans and of course black bean. Can anyone suggest a good bean that I can use for drying?
kanita
Dry Shelling Beans
I am growing yin yang and bingo beans this year, although it's my first year with them, so I can't tell you much else about them.
Kanita, there are quite a few listed in plantfiles and this listing does not necessarily include multipurpose beans. Most of the pole categories will be considered dual purpose. Other than the standards like Navy, Great Northern, Red Kidney, Black Turtle, Pinto, Cranberry, Horticultural Which are found in almost all grocery stores, you might want to try something more exotic. Jacobs Cattle gets some press in addition to the two listed by Artemis. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=dry+shelling+beans&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&searcher%5Bgrex%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search&searcher[common]=Dry%20Shelling%20Bean&offset=0
I like ying yang a lot--but I also like these:
http://www.growitalian.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi?CMD=011&PROD=000010
and:
http://www.growitalian.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi?CMD=011&PROD=000011
Debbie
when something is a shell bean, does that mean you dont eat the pod. Do you just shell the beans out and cook them fresh.
Yes and no. These beans have tough fibrous pods so you don't eat the pods. While they can be used as green shellies, their primary use is as dry beans. They are allowed to dry on the vine, picked . and threshed out for eating later. In real time they are mechanically harvested (combined). That makes them cheap to buy. They usually sell for about a dollar a pound. You could not make minimum wage shelling them by hand, if someone grew, picked and delivered them to your shelling bench. That is why few gardeners or small farmers bother with them. On the other hand thier thin fibrous pods release the beans easily, making them easy to shell. Very important if you are machine harvesting.
Thanks so much for the info everyone! I love cooking dried beans, so I want to build up a good "inventory" of them this year.
The best varieties really aren't massed produced so it does pay off to grow them at home.