Every year we plant three or four varieties of pole beans and a couple of varieties of bush beans. Pole beans are much better suited to our needs. First of all, each plant takes lesser area on the ground compared to bush beans. That allows us to plant them densely. They love to climb up on our trellises. The second benefit is that most pole varieties keep producing until the end of the season. The more frequently we harvest, the more abundantly they produce. This is ideal for us, and likely for most kitchen gardeners.
This year we had Blauhilde, Seychelles, Yard Long and Wing beans in pole varieties. Wing beans did not produce at all. The rest did quite well.
Our favorite was Blauhilde. They were quite prolific producers. Their pods remained stringless even when left on the vines for too long. They kept producing until the first hard frost. We even had two hummingbirds visiting their flowers often!
Seychelles and Yard Long beans too did quite well. Seychelles kept producing even after a few mild frosts! We were able to freeze several pounds of Seychelles for the winter months. We wash them first, cut them and pack in glass containers or Ziploc bags. They keep well in the freezer, even without blanching.
Yard Long bean too is a favorite of ours, in terms of taste. We like sautéing them with slices of coconut, onions, garlic, pepper, turmeric powder etc. For this they are snapped, not cut, into pieces an inch or so (3-4 cm) long. Only the tender ones will snap. The mature ones are shelled and those too are added.
Though Yard Long too produce well here, their production goes down with the early signs of fall (autumn).
Thank you for reading Dispatch № 09.
