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| Chinese Long Beans, images courtesy of Wikipedia |
OK, I'm in the middle of planning the garden and I was looking at beans. I read about these. They are most commonly called "Chinese Long Beans", but also go by "Snake Beans" and "Asparagus Beans" and "Yard Long Beans".
What appeals to me is that they grow a lot of beans in a smaller space. Their length (they can grow up to 3 feet long!) means that a few beans harvested can be cut into smaller pieces to make a whole serving of green beans. That would be really great in our limited space garden this season.
The catalogs say they have a great flavor and I found some delicious looking recipes using them. After some Googling, I even found that they are supposed to grow very well in our area and are relatively pest free. It's all appealing to my garden plans but I'm wondering if anyone out there has grown these and can give some real first hand advice in the comments below?
I have grown them for two years. They are the only beans that seem to grow for me. All the other beans get some sort of disease and die before I get more than a handful of beans.
ReplyDeleteWe live in Las Vegas and the summers are scorching hot. Last year I planted them in June when my tomatoes were done producing, the year before I planted them earlier. They produced well both times. This year I am going to try to make a trellis that is angled so the plants grow across the trellis and the beans can hang down to make it easier to find them. The ten to look like stems and are hard for me to find.
The only problem I have had is that the ants love the aphids that are on the plants. This makes it hard to pick the beans without getting ants all over me.(the reason for the slanted trellis)
They are pretty tasty beans. I like them when they are young. The average length we have gotten is about 12 - 18 inches.
I've heard that they like the hot and humid climates as well. Similar to the area in Asia they come from I guess? I will remember the angled trellis. I know it says they can go to 3 feet, I can't even imagine 12-18 inches, that's awesome. Thanks for the info!!
Deletei have not grown these yet but am planning on them for this year. for the size of your garden and mine, vertical planting is best. i can't waste the space it takes to grow carrots and radishes and the like.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the exact same thing! I would like carrots and radishes too but I'm limited on the space, at least this first season anyway. Beans were a definite want and I was hoping to go vertical a bit. Can't wait to see how they come out.
DeleteI've tried to grow them twice in my Northern Indiana sandy soil garden and they just won't grow for me. I routinely grow other pole beants, Italian Romas are our favorite, but I also grow Kentucky Wonder and the gorgeous Scarlet Runner beans, as well as limas. The long ones just won't take off, even when I pregerminate them. When they did start to grow, they just withered and died. I did buy some to try from a local Farmer's Market and wasn't happy with the flavor. It just wasn't the bean flavor we were used to. Very light and crisp texture, but not much flavor at all.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it's the area? Maybe they like the heat? Not sure. I definitely don't have sandy soil, so maybe that will make a difference. Sorry they didn't work but hey, I might be in the same boat in a few months, LOL. Thank you for the info, I'm definitely going to keep Kentucky Wonder's on the list too. Thanks!!
DeleteNever heard of them never mind grown them lol
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing if you give em a go and what the results are.
Linda
They are kind of fascinating huh? I found them quite by accident in an article in a magazine on growing a lot in a smaller space. I will probably give them a go and you'll see the results here, the good and the bad, ha. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!!
DeleteI grow them and we absolutely love them! I grow the asparagus beans. The vines get really tall. So, you will need a tall trellis. They are very prolific and I think they are much easier to deal with then regular beans. It only takes a few for a meal!
ReplyDeleteYay Robin! I knew you'd probably know something about it. Thanks for the tip on the trellis. You know, that's what appealed to me, the fact that a few beans, cut up, make a nice meal. I think they'd be pretty cool left long too, definitely a conversation starter at dinner, ha. Thank you!!!
DeleteI was just going to say that I thought Robin grew them and there's her comment about it!
ReplyDeleteGreat minds! :-)
DeleteI am planting them for first time this spring so can't wait to taste! Though mine is a red variety.
ReplyDeleteI saw those, almost decided on that but I think I'll go green just for tradition and see how they do. Heck, it they do well (and all things I've read say that in our area especially, they are very prolific), I might build a new 'bean bed' next season and plant green and red! :-)
DeleteI think they are known as yard long beans in the uk and ar a bit of an exotic needing to be grown in a glass or plastic house
ReplyDeleteI did try them but they outgrew my small greenhouse and had to be pulled up to make way for more productive crops
Well, I guess the one thing we have is space, but I don't want them to take over, that's for sure, ha. Yard Long Beans, huh? I like that name, I'll need to edit my post and add that one, ha. Thanks for the info, we'll give it a go and see what happens.:-)
DeleteI grow these as well, they do very well in our Texas climate. But I echo the earlier statement about the ants! The fire ants love them. It doesn't stop me from planting them, just be aware when you pick them! Darn fire ants arghhhhh. I have not had issues with aphids as mentioned above. Just the ants. But again they do very well and are easy to save seeds from :O) for your next year planting. Just leave some on the vine to dry.
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