The oyster mushroom gets its name from its cap which, some say, resembles an oyster. The stem of the oyster mushrooms is perhaps more distinct; it unfurls something like one of those old-time paper lady's fans. The oyster mushroom has...

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Beans: Harvest and Storage

Your bean harvest time will depend on what you plan to do with the beans after picking.

Snap beans or green beans harvest: Green beans are ready for harvest when they are about the size of pencil. The seeds inside will be just visible--they'll look like small bumps. Depending on the variety you have planted, snap beans will be ready for picking 50 to 65 days after planting. For a big harvest, pick green beans every day or at least every couple of days. If you allow beans to mature, the plant will stop producing new beans. So pick regularly for an extended harvest. Pinch of cut off beans; be careful not to pull beans or you may uproot the whole plant. Aging pods will turn yellow and leathery; streaked pods are mealy inside.

Green beans storage: If you can't keep up with the snap bean harvest at the table, you can freeze or pickle green beans. To freeze green beans, wash the beans and snap off the ends. Cut the beans into 1 inch pieces or slice lengthwise. Blanch the beans for 2 to 3 minutes. Chill. Pack in freezer bags. (To blanch beans, add 1½ to 2 inches of water to the kettle and heat to boiling. Place the colander with beans into the kettle and heat through 2 to 3 minutes.)

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Bean Growing Problems: Troubleshooting

Beans: garden beans--including pole, bush, and shell--lima beans, mung beans, scarlet runner beans, asparagus beans, and southern peas (which are not beans but share similar cultural requirements). All of these crops share similar problems.

Here is a list of common bean problems and possible causes and cures. For more on vegetable garden pests and diseases see the Pest Problem Solver and the Disease Problem Solver.

For more on growing beans see How to Grow Snap Beans and How to Grow Lima Beans and the Beans Archive.

Bean problems: possible causes and cures:

• Seedlings fail to emerge. Several possible causes: (1) Beans are a warm weather crop and seed may rot in soil less than 50° to 60° F. Delay planting until the soil has warmed; (2) Soil is heavy or crusted; seedlings may not be able to push through. Add aged compost to the planting bed; cover seed with light compost mulch; (3) Seed was sown too deep or not deep enough. Beans planted in spring 2 inches deep or more may rot and fail to germinate. Beans planted at the end of spring or in summer may dry out and die if sown less than 1 inch deep. Plant beans about 1 inch deep in early spring; 2 inches deep later in the season.

• Seedlings are sheared or cut at the soil level, wilt and fall over. Cutworms are gray grubs curled in soil at base of plants. Keep garden clean of debris and plant residue. Keep garden weed-free. Use cardboard collars around seedlings.

• Seedlings are deformed or have no growing tips or leaves when they emerge. Seed corn maggots are the small yellowish-white larvae of small gray flies. Keep the garden clean. Cultivate to expose the larvae and disturb the life cycle. Replant when the weather is warmer.

• Seeds rot or seedlings collapse with dark water-soaked stems as soon as they appear. Damping off is a fungus that lives in the soil, particularly where humidity is high. Do not plant in cold, moist soil. Make sure soil is well drained.

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Bean Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow

Need top-choice, sure-bet, best-pick, easy-to-grow bean varieties?

Here are 25 top-performers for the home garden divided into 5 popular bean types: (1) snap-bush green, (2) snap-pole green, (3) bush yellow, (4) lima, and (5) dried and shell beans.

Keep reading to the bottom of this post for my tips for sure-fired bean growing success. Also see How to Grow Snap Beans and How to Grow Lima Beans and the Beans Archive for more growing info.

Best Bet Snap-Bush Beans:

• Blue Lake 274. 54-61 days. CBM. Tasty and unique flavor, plump, tender, fine texture. Dark-green, rounded pods 5½ to 6½ inches long; white seeds. Dwarf, bushy plants 12 to 22 inches tall. Beans come to maturity almost all at once; good for canning and freezing. Heavy yields.

• Bush Kentucky Wonder. 52-65 days. R. Excellent flavor. Fleshy, tender, stringless, round-flattened pods to 8 inches long; carmine seeds. Heavy yielder. Good fresh and canned. Vigorous grower over extended period. Good grower in all regions. Also called Old Homestead.

• Contender. 40-55 days. CBM, PM. Tasty fresh out of the garden or cooked. Medium-green, round-oval stringless 6 to 8 inch pods, slightly curved; buff mottled seeds. Bush plants 12 to 20 inch tall. Very productive and early to harvest. Tolerates heat and mildew.

• Derby. 57 days. AAS. CBM. Excellent flavor. Straight, dark-green pods, oval and rounded to 7 inches long; best when picked 5 inches long; white seeds. Good for freezing and canning. Strong upright plant with slow seed development for long harvest. Weather tolerant.

• Greencrop. 55 days. AAS. Excellent flavor, tender, meaty. Flat pods to 8 inches long, but just ½ inch wide, half the width of most Roman types. Top yields. Use fresh or for canning and freezing. Good grower in home gardens.

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How to Grow Lima Beans

The lima bean is a tender annual. Sow lima beans in the garden 3 to 4 weeks after the average date of the last frost in spring when the soil temperature has warmed to 65° or more for at least 5 days and daytime temperatures are consistently warm. Start lima beans indoors as early as 2 to 3 weeks before the average last frost date in spring for transplanting into the garden. Lima beans require 60 to more than 90 warm, frost-free days to reach harvest depending upon type and variety.

See all of the bean articles--varieties, preparation, cooking: click here.

Description. Lima beans are tender annuals grown for their flat, crescent-oval-shaped seeds. There are two types of lima beans: bush and pole or vine varieties. Bush types grow to about 2 feet tall and tend to have smaller seeds; they bear more quickly than pole lima bean varieties. Pole lima beans have large seeds and can grow 10 to 12 feet high. Small-seeded limas, usually bush types, are also called butter beans, sieva beans, Burma beans, Madagascar beans, Carolina beans, and "baby limas." Large-seeded lima beans are sometimes called potato limas. Large-seeded limas are often sold as dry beans. Lima beans have pale green pods that vary from 3 to 4 inches long to 5 to 8 inches long depending upon variety. Lima bean seeds are eaten, not the pods. Leaves are commonly composed of three leaflets and the flowers are white. Bush lima bean varieties are ready for harvest from 60 to 80 days from sowing; pole bean varieties are ready for harvest in 85 to 90 days.

Yield. Grow 4 to 8 lima bean plants per each household member.

Site. Grow lima beans in full sun; they will grow in partial shade but the harvest will not be full. Lima beans prefer loose, well-drained soil rich in organic matter. Beans prefer a soil pH of 6.0 to 6.8. Prepare planting beds in advance by working in plenty of aged compost. Avoid planting beans where soil nitrogen is high or where green manure crops have just grown; these beans will produce green foliage but few beans.

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How to Grow Green or Snap Beans

Green beans--also called snap beans--for fresh eating are a tender annual best planted early in the season as soon as the frost has passed. Sow green beans in the garden just after the average date of the last frost in spring. To get an early start on the season, sow beans indoors as early as 3 or 4 weeks before the average last frost date in spring for transplanting into the garden a week or two after the last frost. For continuous fresh harvest through the growing season, sow succession crop bush beans every two weeks. Beans can continue in the garden until the first frost in fall. However, beans will not set pods in temperatures above 80°F.

Which bean is the right bean? Read all about beans, click here.

To grow beans for drying and long storage: click here.

Description. Green or snap beans are tender annuals grown for their edible immature pods. Green beans grow either as bushes or vines. The size and color of pods and seeds can vary. Pods can be 3 or 4 inches to 6 to 8 inches or more long and vary in color: green, yellow, purple, and speckled. Yellow beans are often called wax beans. Pods can be round or flat. Leaves are commonly composed of three leaflets and flowers are yellow, lavender, or white. Bush bean varieties are ready for harvest in 45 to 60 days; pole bean varieties are ready for harvest in 60 to 85 days. Bush beans grow to 2 or 3 feet tall and mature earlier than pole beans. Pole beans can grow to 8 feet tall and require a stake or trellis for support. Pole beans produce more beans per plant than bush beans.

Yield. Grow 4 to 8 bean plants per each household member.

Site. Grow beans in full sun. Beans will grow in partial shade but the harvest will not be full. Beans grow best in loose, well-drained soil rich in organic matter. Beans prefer a soil pH of 6.0 to 6.8. Prepare planting beds in advance by working in plenty of aged compost. Avoid planting beans where soil nitrogen is high or where green manure crops have just grown; these beans will produce green foliage but few beans.

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How to Grow Dry Beans

Dry or dried beans--also called shell beans--are beans grown to full maturity and left in their pods to dry before being shelled and stored for later use. Dried beans can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to a year or more. (These beans also can be harvested at the green, shelling stage--when seeds are still tender--and eaten before they dry. Often these beans are called "shuckies.") Many beans that can be eaten fresh and immature also can be grown to maturity and dried.

Beans are a tender annual best planted early in the season as soon as the frost has passed. Sow beans in the garden just after the average date of the last frost in spring. To get an early start on the season, sow beans indoors as early as 3 or 4 weeks before the average last frost date in spring for transplanting into the garden a week or two after the last frost. Beans will grow in the garden until the first frost in fall. But they will not set pods in temperatures above 80°F. Beans for shelling are sometimes harvested after the first frost, well after plants have dropped their leaves.

Learn all about beans at our bean archive: click here.

Description. Dry beans or shell beans are beans grown to full maturity, usually harvested in fall after the pods have matured and the leaves of the plant have dried and fallen. Beans grow either as bushes or vines. The size and color of pods and seeds can vary. Pods can be 3 or 4 inches to 12 to 14 inches long at maturity and vary in color during the growing season: green, yellow, purple, and speckled. Leaves are commonly composed of three leaflets and flowers are pale yellow or white. Beans for shelling commonly grow on bushes that are to 2 or 3 feet tall; some are pole beans that can grow to 8 feet tall or more. Dry beans require from 70 to 120 days to reach harvest.

Yield. Grow 4 to 8 bean plants per each household member.

Site. Grow beans in full sun. Beans will grow in partial shade but the harvest will not be full. Beans prefer loose, well-drained soil rich in organic matter. Beans prefer a soil pH of 6.0 to 6.8. Prepare planting beds in advance by working in plenty of aged compost. Avoid planting beans where soil nitrogen is high or where green manure crops have just grown; these beans will produce green foliage but few beans.

Continue reading "How to Grow Dry Beans" »

Borlotti Beans

Just tender cooked borlotti beans--often called cranberry beans--are a tasty late summer snack.

Use your thumb to pop open the fresh-picked speckled pods, place a few handfuls of beans in a skillet and cover with just an inch of water; add a couple of cloves of garlic, pepper corns, and fresh sage, and simmer until they are just tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain away the water; let the beans dry a minute or two in a colander or on paper towels; lightly salt to taste and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. You can serve them alone warm or cooled or add them to the antipasto tray with mixed cheeses and sausages.

If the beans are fresh picked just barely visible in the pod and still young, you can leave out the cooking part, and snack on the creamy textured, nutty flavored borlottis simply adding olive oil and sea salt. If you've brought home dried beans, soak those 3 to 8 hours at room temperature or place them in a saucepan covered with water and bring to a boil, remove from the heat, and soak for 1½ hours before cooking.

The borlotti bean is an oval to round, ivory and dark red to brown speckled and blotched bean. It comes in a pod very similar, streaked ivory and dark red. The beans and pods are just about the same size as a large string bean. Inside, the borlotti is cream colored. Its flavor compares to the chestnut. Borlottis are shell beans; you don't eat the pods.

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Green Beans Wearing Bow Ties

Yes you could call this "butterflies and beans" which is pleasantly alliterative in a garden sort of way, but I have to go with "beans wearing bow ties" which is the name my small friend Sophie calls this dish. Sophie knows when beans are dressed up, and I guess she's right in this case.

One swoop through the summer herb and vegetable garden and you'll have almost everything you need for this colorful and fresh garden pesto-pasta salad. Basil, parsley, chives, spinach, and garlic come together for this fresh pesto. If you add a third or fourth clove of garlic, you can kick this pesto up a notch. But if subtle is good enough then just follow the suggested ingredients here.

Green beans are easy pickin' in summer. I have six bushes of the French haricot vert that just love to deliver a cup or two of beans nearly every other day. These slender, delicate beans are a good match to the small farfalle--"butterflies" or is that "bow ties" pasta.

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Black Bean Soup

The black bean--the black turtle bean--may be small but it is meaty and flavorful and can be nearly turned into a meal on its own. It is the same frijol negro of the popular Mexican-American black bean burrito. The black bean is a staple in Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian, Cuban, and Caribbean cookery as well.

The black bean--Phaseolus vulgaris--is kidney shaped and just short of blocky looking with a cream-colored flesh, and, of course, a matt to shiny black skin.

Why is the black bean found in so many cuisines? Two reasons: it holds its shape when cooked, and its floury texture absorbs the flavors of other foods making it an easy match and complement to so many other dishes: vegetables, beef, pork, chicken, and fish.

The flavor of the black bean has been described as both sweet and earthy, like a mushroom; you decide. The turtle bean's distinctive color definitely adds drama to soups, salads, and casseroles.

Besides black bean and turtle bean, you may find this bean called Mexican black bean, Spanish black bean, and turtle soup bean.

You will never be at a loss for a black bean soup recipe. There are many, and they are all variations on a theme. Some recipes include fresh tomatoes or celery: ideal for summer when those add-in vegetables are in season. In the winter, substitute a root vegetable.

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How to Prepare and Cook Dried Beans

Dried beans eaten fresh meaning during the season just after they have been harvested and dried--will undoubtedly be the best tasting.

But a big plus for dried beans is that they have a long shelf life if stored in a dry, cool, airtight container away from sunlight. Quite easily, you can keep dried beans on hand for more than just a season or two after they have been dried.

Beans are packed with protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber, and they are low in fat. Beans--which are also known as pulses and are the edible seeds from plants belonging to the legume family--readily absorb the flavors of other foods. That means you can use beans as the base for many cooked dishes. That's why beans have been adopted by so many of the world's cuisines.

The preparation and cooking of dried beans is not difficult. It's worth trying as many different varieties of dried beans as you can. They don't all taste the same!

Here's some starter tips for preparing, cooking, and serving dried beans:

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Chickpeas

The chickpea can be used in appetizers, mixed salads, soups, main dishes, puréed, and ground and made into flour.

Garbanzo bean in Spain, pois chiche in France, ceci in Italy, hummus in the Middle East, gram in India, chickpea in the United States: by any name, the chickpea is a staple in cookery throughout much of the world.

The nutty flavor and creamy texture of the chickpea make it a robust and hearty addition to many dishes.

Whole chickpeas can be fried, roasted, and boiled. Fresh or dried chickpeas can be used like peas or beans, added to soups and stews. Shell then steam or boil chickpeas like peas or roast them like peanuts. Chickpeas can be used with grains as a protein-rich substitute. They are the main ingredient of hummus, the thick sauce usually served as a dip with pieces of pita.

Split chickpeas are known as chana dal in India. Mature chickpeas are canned in brine and used in salads in the United States, usually called garbanzo beans. The chickpea has more texture than other legumes and does not fall apart as easily.

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Piquant Wax Beans

Piquant is a flavor that can be spicy, tart, or pungent.

In this recipe that combines wax beans with chopped pimiento, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, and dry mustard, I think we are on the border between spicy and pungent.

The wax bean is a pale yellow variety of green bean. Sometimes called yellow snap bean, the wax bean gets its name from its waxy textured skin.

There are two varieties of wax bean you might want to try in your garden: 'Mellow Yellow' is crisp and sweet tasting--it's not a big plant either; 'Gold Mine' is ultra-sweet and a big producer. Both produce beans that measure from 5 to 6 inches (13-15 cm) long.

The pimiento is a red heart-shaped sweet pepper that is sweeter, more succulent, and more aromatic than the red bell pepper.

Both the wax bean and the pimiento are late summer and early fall vegetables so they should be easy to find at your farm market this weekend.

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Green Beans with Garlic

Here is a simple recipe for les haricots verts à l'ail or green beans with garlic.

Both fresh green beans and garlic will be an easy find at the farm market this week. Serve this simple side dish with pasta, chicken, steak, or salmon.

This recipe comes from La Cuisine du Comté de Nice by Jacques Médecin. If you are from Nice, France the name, no doubt, rings a bell. Médecin was the mayor of Nice and also a chef in that city for many years. (We won't go into politics, but Médecin did spend some time in prison after being mayor. He died in 1998.)

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Beans

green bean

Beans, beans, beans!

If there were a "best of beans" award, which would you pick?

End of summer is truly the culmination of bean season. Even the wax bean--which prefers cooler weather than most other beans--is about at the farm market now.

How to make sense of all these beans and all those bean names? Here's a bean primer to help you through bean season:

Beans are legumes whose seeds or pods are eaten, but are not classified as peas or lentils (which are also legumes). For the record, legumes are plants with double-seamed pods containing a single row of seeds.

Beans can be divided into two main groups: those that can be eaten pod and all, called green or snap beans, and others that are shelled for their seeds and eaten either fresh or dried, called shell or dried beans.

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Yard-long bean

If you wait for the yard-long bean to become a yard long, you will probably have waited too long.

The best tasting yard-long beans are usually about 18-inches (45 cm) long, which means the best tasting yard-long beans are young. Even so “tender” and “sweet” are not adjectives that are commonly used to describe even young yard-long beans. Rather the yard-long bean—which also goes by the name asparagus bean and Chinese long bean—is a bean that is dense and solid at half its size, not crisp and juicy. The yard-long bean, simply put, is not a substitute for the green bean.

Fall is the peak season for yard-long beans which is perfect because these are beans well suited for deep-frying, stir-frying and braising. On a brisk autumn day, yard-long beans are good eating with vegetable or meat stews, with fried rice, black beans, sausage, roast pork, curry or chili sauce. The taste of yard-long beans intensifies with cooking; they become nutty, chewy and firm.

Where exactly the yard-long bean got its start is unclear. It might have been Africa; it might have been Asia. That the yard-long bean is sometimes called a Chinese long bean tells us that it has been a staple in that country for thousands of years, probably to pre-historic times. Today, you will find yard-long beans at Asian produce markets and probably at your farm market as well.

When choosing yard-long beans, pick those that are thin and relatively long to 18 inches. The peas inside should not be developed, so avoid beans that are bulging. Yard-long beans will not be crisp like a green bean, but they should not be limp either.

There are both pale green and dark green yard-long beans. The paler bean will be sweeter tasting and more tender than the dark green variety. The dark green bean is stronger flavored and more firm. So you can choose the bean best suited to your taste and to the meal you plan to serve

Before cooking, cut off both ends of the bean then cut it into lengths of 2 to 6 inches (5-15 cm).

Yard-long beans will keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. They should be wrapped in a paper towel and placed in a plastic bag. Beans that have grown too old will turn limp and rusty colored.

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