Black beans, when and how to pick?

[headred]

I planted black beans this year, never have before, and I'm wondering when to pick them. They are the kind to dry so do you keep them on the vine to dry or pick them now and let them dry?

 

[DawnSuiter]

I don't know! I started seeing bean pods just the other day...

 

[Gazinga]

same here........

 

[Ridgerunner]

I let mine dry on the vine until the hull is hard, then shell them out. If they are all really dried out, you can store them in a jar. I always find some late stragglers that are not completely dry. I suppose you could put them aside and eat them if you wish, but I divide mine into serving portions (for me, 1 pound) and freeze them in freezer bags, including those that are not 100% dried out. I freeze them because I don't want to take the chance that I miss some that are not totally dried out and they mold in the jar, ruining the rest. I know, I could dry them out further, but this is less work and the results have been pretty good.

I have never tried it so certainly don't take my word that it will work, but I've read that if you pick the beans once the pods have started to turn and the bean inside is black, you can dry them in wicker baskets, turning them two or three times a day, and the plant will set new beans. If anyone decides to try this, let us know the results, please.

Good luck!

 

[headred]

Think I'll try to pick and then dry further, that way I may get more production. Thanks for the advice!

 

[DawnSuiter]

We harvested the black beans day before yesterday....
Here are a few photos:

9 Black Bean Plants

What they look like on the plant

Yield from 9 plants

Shelled & Clean

I used 2 cups worth last night in some make ahead Frijoles Negros (cuban black beans) and that left about 3 cups worth which I am drying now in that basket.

It was a lot of fun and SUPER easy to grow, next year I will plant about 20 of them and make it a main crop with a little more space per plant.

 

[curly_kate]

I just grew black beans this year, and I was also super surprised at how easy they were to grow. I had some pods that were a little green, so I just sat them outside on some screens, and they dried up very nicely. Piece of cake to shell. We grew about 20 plants, and had a qt. of beans, so I guess we could go a little bigger with them next year.

 

[obsessed]

I think it would be really cool one year to grow some of the fancy dancy beans that are in the seed savers mag. Maybe one day.......