Pole Beans 2023

[Tormahto]

Unless the photo images are reversed, the vines spiral counterclockwise looking down at them emerging from the ground, left to right in front of a pole, right to left in back of a pole, when looking horizontally at them. I'll have to edit my post in that other thread.

[karstopography]

https://seeds.ca/d/?t=dfbc40df00003877

Pole beans are right handed, runner beans left handed, according to link.
So counter-clockwise if looking from above for common pole beans.

[MarkAndre]

Interesting. So does it matter for more than just the growing tip? How far down? Or will it balk and try to unwind itself if you retrain it in the wrong direction further down the vine?

[rxkeith]

the trick to training pole beans is you have to stay on top of them. as they start growing, and reaching,
i try to get them leaning toward the fence. as they get taller, gently wrap the top around the fence. it won't
stay, but keep at it. you just want to keep them off the ground, and not get tangled up with each other. usually,
once you can loop the vine around the fence a couple of times, it will start to stay put. ignore them for a few days
or can't get in the garden or been gone a few days at the wrong time, and you will have a tangled mess on your hands.
some times, i can untangle a few plants, and get them trained up the fence. other times i give up, and just try to get the vines
off the ground and weave the leaders through the fence a couple times. weave the vines in the fence slowly in the general direction
they are already growing. you're going to break one now, and then, but you will get more runners. production might be delayed a bit.
the more you do it, you will develop a knack for it. gentle loops, slack is better, avoid creating tension on any parts of the vine.


keith

[Tormahto]

the trick to training pole beans is you have to stay on top of them. as they start growing, and reaching,
i try to get them leaning toward the fence. as they get taller, gently wrap the top around the fence. it won't
stay, but keep at it. you just want to keep them off the ground, and not get tangled up with each other. usually,
once you can loop the vine around the fence a couple of times, it will start to stay put. ignore them for a few days
or can't get in the garden or been gone a few days at the wrong time, and you will have a tangled mess on your hands.
some times, i can untangle a few plants, and get them trained up the fence. other times i give up, and just try to get the vines
off the ground and weave the leaders through the fence a couple times. weave the vines in the fence slowly in the general direction
they are already growing. you're going to break one now, and then, but you will get more runners. production might be delayed a bit.
the more you do it, you will develop a knack for it. gentle loops, slack is better, avoid creating tension on any parts of the vine.


keith

Don't do what I sometimes do. Have a tray of 25 starter plants, and let them grow too big, like to about 3 feet tall. I thought that I could easily untangle them.

[karstopography]

CC49F4AC-5B66-4F24-AD12-AB85B5603A96.jpeg

CB1CCB19-210A-4F02-9370-9CDB15DDF855.jpeg

Emerite in one bag, all the rest in the other. The beans have been looking good. Emerite as usual has been strong and the beans it’s producing are long and well formed. Algarve has been making better looking and meatier beans overall than the Marvel of Venice, maybe related to air temperatures being near the top of tolerances. Not that Marvel of Venice isn’t making some nice beans, but a significant amount are short or incomplete. Trionfo Violetto (white seeded) seems to be an intermediate between a french filet and a flat pod. Mom says it doesn’t taste like a filet bean. The beans trionfo violetto make are more flattened ovals in cross section whereas emerite are typically round. Trionfo violetto is shorter than Emerite by a good inch or two on average. My mom and dad have been living on Emerite. Mom is wild about these beans. She still has a pound she hasn’t cooked, so the next pound goes to my low carb eating son and DIL.

The vines themselves are all blooming still. This rain we just had overnight ought to accelerate the trend. The upcoming week looks a little on the cooler than average side and that should be beneficial.

The plan involves making a big pot of the everything but Emerite tomorrow with some new potatoes, onions and bacon. I’m not sure it matters what beans are which when cooked like that, the flavor becomes bacony, oniony, beany goodness. That along with a couple racks of pork back ribs on the BGE is straight up good eats around here.

[Tormahto]

CC49F4AC-5B66-4F24-AD12-AB85B5603A96.jpegCB1CCB19-210A-4F02-9370-9CDB15DDF855.jpeg

Emerite in one bag, all the rest in the other. The beans have been looking good. Emerite as usual has been strong and the beans it’s producing are long and well formed. Algarve has been making better looking and meatier beans overall than the Marvel of Venice, maybe related to air temperatures being near the top of tolerances. Not that Marvel of Venice isn’t making some nice beans, but a significant amount are short or incomplete. Trionfo Violetto (white seeded) seems to be an intermediate between a french filet and a flat pod. Mom says it doesn’t taste like a filet bean. The beans trionfo violetto make are more flattened ovals in cross section whereas emerite are typically round. Trionfo violetto is shorter than Emerite by a good inch or two on average. My mom and dad have been living on Emerite. Mom is wild about these beans. She still has a pound she hasn’t cooked, so the next pound goes to my low carb eating son and DIL.

The vines themselves are all blooming still. This rain we just had overnight ought to accelerate the trend. The upcoming week looks a little on the cooler than average side and that should be beneficial.

The plan involves making a big pot of the everything but Emerite tomorrow with some new potatoes, onions and bacon. I’m not sure it matters what beans are which when cooked like that, the flavor becomes bacony, oniony, beany goodness. That along with a couple racks of pork back ribs on the BGE is straight up good eats around here.

Trionfo Violetto seed should be tan to light brown in color, and can have sort of a crease running its length.

Cooking time varies widely with some varieties. Some Appalachian varieties used in 'leather britches' are cooked for about half an hour. Jeminez, after about 5 minutes, will start to fall apart.

[pepperhead212]

Trionfo Violetto was a purple pole bean I grew years ago, but it was very rust prone (even more than most), when humidity or rain was high. Blauhilde is my go to purple variety now, as it only gets a little rust, and only starts getting stringy when very large.

[MarkAndre]

What time is dinner?

Have you grown Grandma Roberts Purple Pole? I zeroed in on that one but too late for this season. Based on the description, I will probably make it half of my planting next year.

[karstopography]

CC49F4AC-5B66-4F24-AD12-AB85B5603A96.jpegCB1CCB19-210A-4F02-9370-9CDB15DDF855.jpeg

Emerite in one bag, all the rest in the other. The beans have been looking good. Emerite as usual has been strong and the beans it’s producing are long and well formed. Algarve has been making better looking and meatier beans overall than the Marvel of Venice, maybe related to air temperatures being near the top of tolerances. Not that Marvel of Venice isn’t making some nice beans, but a significant amount are short or incomplete. Trionfo Violetto (white seeded) seems to be an intermediate between a french filet and a flat pod. Mom says it doesn’t taste like a filet bean. The beans trionfo violetto make are more flattened ovals in cross section whereas emerite are typically round. Trionfo violetto is shorter than Emerite by a good inch or two on average. My mom and dad have been living on Emerite. Mom is wild about these beans. She still has a pound she hasn’t cooked, so the next pound goes to my low carb eating son and DIL.

The vines themselves are all blooming still. This rain we just had overnight ought to accelerate the trend. The upcoming week looks a little on the cooler than average side and that should be beneficial.

The plan involves making a big pot of the everything but Emerite tomorrow with some new potatoes, onions and bacon. I’m not sure it matters what beans are which when cooked like that, the flavor becomes bacony, oniony, beany goodness. That along with a couple racks of pork back ribs on the BGE is straight up good eats around here.

Trionfo Violetto seed should be tan to light brown in color, and can have sort of a crease running its length.

Cooking time varies widely with some varieties. Some Appalachian varieties used in 'leather britches' are cooked for about half an hour. Jeminez, after about 5 minutes, will start to fall apart.

Yes, I got trionfo violetto confused with Marvel of Venice. Uprising Seeds selected for the white seeded type of Marvel of Venice.

[karstopography]

IMG_3333.jpeg

Planted Emerite pole beans today around that tall bamboo in the photo. Used the better part of two Renee’s Garden packs.

If I find some space, I might do some bush beans in a week or two. Otherwise, this might be the extent of my bean efforts for the Spring.

[MissTee]

Re: Grandma Roberts and Blauhilde purple polebeans:
Blauhilde has been a staple for years.
Tried GR for first time last year thanks to the MMMM.
I found it earlier than Blauhilde, but then it stopped producing earlier.
Blauhilde was later season, but kept on going through Fall.
Together I was kept in purple beans all season.
GR is a bit thinner; B is a chunkier bean, especially if left on the vine.
No complaints with either and they will both be back.

Re:Green Pole
Fortex was the latest to ripen of all the beans. I sourced some new Emerite beans for this coming year as my ‘Emerite’ last year ended up being Fortex. I had a double dose of Fortex and for me they grew too long, thick and mealy. Looking forward to Emerite as it is earlier, thinner, tastier.

Got some new ones to try this season as well — some from a Quebec company and some from the MMMM.

[MissTee]

Oh more report for ‘23 — tried ‘Sunshine’ a yellow pole from William Dam for the first time. It won’t return. Not really a pole bean, maybe grew 3 or 4 feet. So it was stunted, and was late, diseased and not very tasty.

[Tormahto]

IMG_3333.jpeg

Planted Emerite pole beans today around that tall bamboo in the photo. Used the better part of two Renee’s Garden packs.

If I find some space, I might do some bush beans in a week or two. Otherwise, this might be the extent of my bean efforts for the Spring.

"this might be"

Your MMMM package should be going out today, unless I run int a problem.

[karstopography]

IMG_3469.jpeg

Emerite Pole beans are up. Good bean weather ahead.

[karstopography]

IMG_3622.jpeg

The climbing has commenced. All Emerite.

[PlainJane]

We are having one last (I hope) taste of low 40s this week so I’m waiting till next weekend to start mine.

[Tormahto]

Re: Grandma Roberts and Blauhilde purple polebeans:
Blauhilde has been a staple for years.
Tried GR for first time last year thanks to the MMMM.
I found it earlier than Blauhilde, but then it stopped producing earlier.
Blauhilde was later season, but kept on going through Fall.
Together I was kept in purple beans all season.
GR is a bit thinner; B is a chunkier bean, especially if left on the vine.
No complaints with either and they will both be back.

Re:Green Pole
Fortex was the latest to ripen of all the beans. I sourced some new Emerite beans for this coming year as my ‘Emerite’ last year ended up being Fortex. I had a double dose of Fortex and for me they grew too long, thick and mealy. Looking forward to Emerite as it is earlier, thinner, tastier.

Got some new ones to try this season as well — some from a Quebec company and some from the MMMM.

Emerite is pure black seed. Fortex is dark brown.

[GoDawgs]

@MissTee, thanks for the observations about the GR pole bean. I got some last year in MMMM too and didn't have room for them then but will be trying some this year. Plans are to try five MMMM varieties from last year on single poles or on "quadpods" (what I call 4-legged teepees).

Single poles for Aunt Jean's, Garafol Oro, Grandma Roberts Purple, Super Marconi.

Quadpods for Jeminez, Crawford (not an MMMM).

[Tormahto]

@MissTee, thanks for the observations about the GR pole bean. I got some last year in MMMM too and didn't have room for them then but will be trying some this year. Plans are to try five MMMM varieties from last year on single poles or on "quadpods" (what I call 4-legged teepees).

Single poles for Aunt Jean's, Garafol Oro, Grandma Roberts Purple, Super Marconi.

Quadpods for Jeminez, Crawford (not an MMMM).

Your package should be going out on Monday.

I don't remember if I included any pole beans, but there will be bush beans.

I too use a 4-pole teepee setup. Six vines per pole, 24 per teepee, although I often double or triple sow, and then cut off the thin vines (using scissors) that emerge from each hole, leaving the thickest one. Six per pole gives me the maximum production per pole and teepee, but likely less per vine.

I have no idea if less vines per pole would be better with certain varieties. Perhaps a variety like Garrafal Oro? Three or four per pole? Although with single poles, there will be much more sunlight than with teepees. This variety has very large leaves. And, in my garden, the curvature of the pod is almost identical to the curvature of the leaf edge. At times, it is very difficult to see the pods, in among the leaves. Garrafal Oro is about a week later than most varieties that I've grown. To me, likely second in flavor to Super Marconi.

And, Super Marconi, by far my favorite bean, is not heat tolerant at all, compared to just about all beans that I've trialed. Expect flowering to start somewhere just over 50 days after sowing, harvesting about 14 days later. If you can estimate when your weather will be the best early or late in the season, use that 50 days to flowering as a gauge as to when to plant.