French beans, String beans and Snap beans, better-known Green beans, are the unripe fruit and the enclosing pods of different varieties of bean plants. They are harvested and consumed with their protective pods, usually before the seeds within have fully matured.
Green beans are classified by growth habit into two major groups, bush beans and pole beans.
- Bush beans are short plants, they grow to about 2 feet in height, They typically reach full growth and produce all of their crops in a short period of time, then stop producing.
- Pole beans also known as runner bean, The vine can grow to 3 m (9 ft) or more in length. which must be supported by poles or trellises.
Types of Pole beans usually grown in the home garden:
Blue Lake Pole: Is a robust producer, it produces stringless, round and long straight pods about 6".
Blue Lake beans are known for being juicy and sweet, They can be eaten fresh. And are a good choice for canning or freezing.
It take 63 days to reach Maturity, the planting season is Late spring to early summer.
Kentucky Blue Pole: This variety of pole beans combine the best of Blue Lake and Kentucky Wonder.
Kentucky Blue Pole beans grow to be round, smooth and straight. The dark green pods have a sweet flavor and grow to be 8-9.5" long. The vines are strong and produce a big harvest, over a long season.
It takes between 58-60 days to reach Maturity, the planting season is Late spring/early summer.
Kentucky Wonder Pole: This variety of pole beans has been popular since the mid 1800s. This old-timer is brown-seeded and a favorite because of its exceptional productivity, flavor, and wide adaptability.
Kentucky Wonder Pole grow to be approximately 7-9" long. stringless and slender when harvested young. The Pods are thick and meaty.
It takes between 55-65 days to reach Maturity, the planting season is Late spring/early summer.
Scarlet Runner bean: One of the oldest runner beans in existence. It was already a well-known variety of beans in 1735 according to The Gardener’s Dictionary by English botanist Philip Miller.
Scarlet Runner seeds can be directly seeded into warm soil after the last spring frost. Space your seeds 2-4 inches apart, and 1 inch deep. as the plant grow it will need to be supported with trellis to keep the vines off the ground.
It takes between 65 days to reach Maturity, the planting season is Late spring/early summer.
Golden Gate Beans: Have large, flattened, sunny yellow pods, which set off nicely by the vigorous, dark green plants. Making it easy to see and harvest the bean pods.
Golden Gate Beans pods grow to be approximately 25cm (10")long. They are tasty and stringless even when they mature, you can enjoy them sautéed in butter for a melt-in-your-mouth side dish.
Golden Gate Beans produces huge yields. And it takes between 10-12 weeks to reach Maturity, the planting season is Late spring/early summer.
Algarve French Climbing Beans: There flavor is fabulous, and give huge yields, and you can harvest them earlier than most other types of beans.
This variety of beans is very resistant to Common Bean Mosaic Virus. Algarve Climbing Bean have a vigorous and robust vine, it can grow up to 6 to 7 feet long over the course of the season.
Algarve Climbing Bean pods can grow to reach up to 10 inches long and 1 inch wide. They are Completely stringless.
