I've got some Tenderpods beans growing pretty well, about 3' high now and lots of fruit on the vine. How do I know when to pick????????
I THINK they are Tenderpods, they look like those beans you buy at grocery store for Chinese dishes, sort of slightly flattened.
When To Pick Beans?
If Tenderpods are a variety of bush beans, you can pick them at any size. The more you pick the more they flower. ;)
Thanks! Will do! I tried to pick just one today and it wouldn't come off the vine. Should I wait until they fall off more easily or does it matter?????
Just clip it with your fingernail at the end. Careful not to break the plant. ;)
Baby veggies have great flavor.
You will see as time goes by they get awfully big by the time you get around to picking them. LOL
Tenderpod is listed as snap bean, I don't grow it and there are not any comments in plantfiles. However most bush type snap beans are good from 2-3 inches in lenght to 5-6 inches which is their mature lenght. As cyndie stated, they are good early. You just want to make sure you pick them before beans develop. They can get tough and fibrous at that point.
I grow beans simply for the ability to get the little ones. Love love a baby veggie. Just for me, the ones above are too big.
If they get bigger, though, they're always tasty cooked down with a bit of pork fat or ham and maybe some onion. When they're large I cook them until they're soft and slightly browned. My family loves them that way.
I hear that GG. I think the Publix here orders pork butts ( they are wrapped in red pakcage) just for me and my beans. I love...especially pole beans. Cooked just that way. Im afraid Im a product of the south, there are not to many veggies I eat , that are not cooked pretty darned done. Otherwise...just call it a salad ;-)
I think there's room for all sorts of veggie preparation styles. I also love really young beans quickly steamed with a touch of butter, or some rosemary. As Tuscan Green Beans they're also good cooked a long time with fennel seeds and a few chopped tomatoes and some onion and olive oil. Yum!
Just be aware if you let the beans get big, especially letting the beans inside the pods really swell, then they will be tougher, and the plants will slow down production. After all the job of the bean plant is to produce large, mature pods, and then quit. So don't let them. ;)
What do you do with pole beans if you are wanting them for seeds??? When do you pick them? ....I'm new at "growing for seeds"...
For seeds I just let the vines go, and then when they're dry I pull them and pop open the beans and collect the seeds.
Glenda,
You could also dedicate one or two of your plants to developing seeds and use the rest for fresh eating.
You're also supposed to save seed from only the best plants in terms of size and production, but I admit that I'm not that careful....