fresh shell beans

[homewardbound]

Ive never grown fresh shell beans and Ive never eaten them but a time or two so I dont know much about them. Is there any difference between the varieties in the seed catalogs that are sold as fresh shell beans and anything sold as green/snap beans? Could green/snap bean varieties like Top Crop or Tendergreen be grown for fresh shell beans? The only seed for fresh shell beans that Im finding in the catalogs I have are for bush varieties, but are there any pole varieties?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll let Marshall tell you the varieties, but you can pretty much use any bean either as fresh green beans or let them go and use them as dried beans. There is often a taste difference and sometimes a productivity difference though. They are usually recommedned for one or the other for a reason.

I normally grow Blue Lake beans for green beans. When I have all the green beans canned that I want, I keep one area of pole beans picked so I have fresh green beans until frost, but let the others go to make dried beans. They save and cook up fine.

 

[897tgigvib]

Most beans can be multipurpose, but the purpose a bean is intended is definitely much better. Same goes for corn, amaranth, or peas etcetera.

For fresh shell beans, those right out of the pod, full sized but still chewable, one variety stands out as absolutely the most delicious.

Flor De Mayo

https://nativeseeds.org/index.php/c...hword=flor+de+mayo&ordering=&searchphrase=all

These are pole beans, and they are somewhat late to mature.

I am working on selecting several versions of this variety. The San Luis Potosi I know is a great one. If you do get them, you will notice it is variable.

There is a bush variety with a delicious shell bean that I received with no name attached. It is a rose (pink) bolitas type bean for shell or dry. Since it came with no name, I call it what it is, Rose Bolitas.

For just plain the biggest or most productive bean for shelling, Dow Purple Pod will do, even though it is not intended as a shelling bean. It'll give you lots of volume, is vigorous and early. It is so vigorous I don't recommend planting it among other pole beans. It'll crowd them.