Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

 

America’s Top Source for Pure Heirloom Seeds

Best Bean for Hot Humid Areas Review by DentonOrganics

Overall Rating

 

Love this variety, it produced huge amounts of beans until we had three weeks of 100+ degree weather. Trying to keep it alive for a few more weeks until cooler weather comes. Highly recommended for North Texas, great flavor..

(Posted on 8/16/10)

 

super bean Review by Unknown

Overall Rating

 

I grew this bean last summer and could not be more pleased with it's performance. It is a strong grower with strikingly beautiful foliage and pods..

(Posted on 11/25/09)

 

Quite Good Review by Unknown

Overall Rating

 

Young pods are somewhat more nutty and complex in flavor, good stir-fried in garlic with BRAGG's or soy-sauce! Good yields, no strings, even larger pods are tender. These will become a staple in our gardens..

(Posted on 12/9/09)

 

Wow Review by Debi

Overall Rating

 

These are strong climbers, fast growers, heavy producers, and the vines reached 15'. They don't seem to slow down even in the hottest weeks of summer. The flowers resemble little purple orchids. I found the beans best at a diameter approximately equal to a pencil and they are a dusty purple when cooked..

(Posted on 12/31/09)

 

BETTER THAN DESCRIBED Review by JAICY

Overall Rating

 

These beans grow deep purple with green tinges for me and turn mauve when cooked. We use the leaves in stir fry or as spinach. If you harvest these beans too early they are tasteless and stay hard. DO NOT HARVEST THESE UNTIL THEY ARE AS THICK AS A PENCIL. If they get too thick, (if seeds inside the pods start to bulge) they are way too fibrous but make great tasting small shelling beans. I didn't reach the pencil thickness until my beans were 24" long! Don't be tempted to pick them when they are still thin even if they seem super long. Harvest by thickness, not length. I live in South Florida so we grow these all year. Last month my vines were growing up to 10 inches a day, faster now. These plants need space because they really take off. We have these going up straight thin tall poles with a chicken wire top forming a roof. The vines quickly climb up but then form a lovely shadey canopy to sit under. This also allows me to harvest my beans while walking under them. The long purple pods hang down in pairs and are hard to miss. I grow organically and I had a problem with red ants loving to colonize around the roots of this bean, then swarming up and covering the flowers when they appeared. Never had that happen with beans before. About 25% of my plants were so affected..

(Posted on 6/18/10)

 

great taste / raw or cooked Review by Unknown

Overall Rating

 

This bean caused a stir fry sensation with family and friends this season. Some of the teenagers can't be stopped from eating them raw as a snack instead of chips.
We have plans for a larger bean patch next year. We will also be building an arch as another person suggested. The vines far surpassed the 7 ft. poles this year..

(Posted on 8/17/10)

 

Beautiful and Yummy Review by Garden Girl

Overall Rating

 

First time I've ever seen or grown this variety of "long bean". It's been great fun to watch it grow and see who pollinates it. Absolutely delicious picked at pencil thickness and stir fried with lots of garlic and some of your delicious hot chile peppers (and a dash of ginger). Yummy and really productive..

(Posted on 8/29/10)

 

Wonderful bean Review by Constant_Gardner

Overall Rating

 

I grew these for the 1st time this season-will be a regular. Excellent in stirfry. My beans never exceeded 12-15", even the ones I let fully mature for seeds. Did have a problem with fire ants crawling all over the buds - but didn't seem to hurt fruiting. Replanted with this season's seeds and the 2nd planting grew as good as the first- matured much quicker. I can't trellis high enough, just let them grow horizontally at the 6' top. Burned up in July-came back slightly during a week of rain. Beautiful red snap bean..

(Posted on 9/24/10)

 

These are GREAT! Review by Jay

Overall Rating

 

We had great luck with these delicious beans in NH. They are perfect for stir frys and produced up until the plants were killed by frost. Definately a staple in our garden from now on!.

(Posted on 2/28/11)

 

Most wonderful pod bean I've ever tasted Review by SG in Idaho

Overall Rating

 

A friend grew these (hot & dry climate) and gave me some to try... wow! They were -really- long (2+ feet), thicker than a pencil... and still totally tender, with a sorta meaty texture that, surprisingly, almost melted in the mouth; yet kept well in the refrigerator. And still purple when cooked, yay! The green asparagus beans I've grown are utterly insipid in comparison - I won't bother again, only want Chinese red noodles....

(Posted on 5/13/11)

 

small harvest window? Review by wild child (zone 9b, Arizona)

Overall Rating

 

The vines look healthy, are growing nice and tall, but something seems to be missing. I saw them bloom, they formed tiny little thin beans, which elongated to maybe 6 inches and then they turn light green and fill up with seeds. None of them are getting long; it seems like they just want to go right to seed. Normally, I'd blame the heat, but everyone else says they preform well in it..

(Posted on 6/21/11)

 

Love this long bean! Review by Lakeland

Overall Rating

 

So tender, so easy to find (the GREEN long beans are often hidden). :) First year growing these...am ordering more for next spring..

(Posted on 7/11/11)

 

Great beans, a bit of a wasp problem Review by JP

Overall Rating

 

We just harvested our first crop of these beans and they look GREAT! Something to be careful of is WASPS LOVE these pants. I waited until nighttime and the surprise was on me that the wasps don't leave the plant at night either. What to do, what to do. We decided to mix up a concoction to get rid of the wasp so we could harvest the beans. I used the mix i found at http://www.ehow.com/how_7657545_make-organic-wasp-spray.html which consisted of peppermint oil, orange oil, Tabasco, dish soap (we used a food safe organic type), water and a sprayer. Again, I went out after dark and I was amazed at how quickly the wasps were dispatched using the mix. I setup a flashlight to shine on the vines and I was not near it in case the wasps chose to come after the light. I didn't see any flying around the light. After we harvested the beans i ran the sprinkler to rinse the vines off as I want to make sure we get more beans from the vines. I'll report back and let y'all know if there are any negative side affects to the spray (like no new bean development, etc) but that will take a week or two. These look fantastic and we'll cook some up tomorrow for dinner..

(Posted on 7/25/11)

 

Beautiful, tasty bean Review by Robyn

Overall Rating

 

Gorgeous color, impressively long; prolific producer. Just plant it and watch it go..

(Posted on 8/1/11)

 

Hard to Grow Up North Review by TarynK

Overall Rating

 

I have tried to grow this bean for 4 years now and I can't get them to produce in Seattle. I tried starting them inside to get an earlier start, but they (and all long beans from what I can tell) do NOT transplant. I'll try one more time! .

(Posted on 12/6/11)

 

Wow Review by Mid Tn Gardener

Overall Rating

 

I had never heard of long beans until I was introduced to Baker Creek Heirlooms Christmas before last by my cousin, and I was instantly fascinated by them. For the first couple of weeks the plants didn't seem to be doing anything, but once the first true leaves came on they took off like wildfire. They began producing fairly early for pole beans and boy were they delicious. The only problems I had were fire ants, which would bore into the developing pods and destroy the young seeds, making it difficult to save a large supply, but they were productive enough that I was able to get plenty for the table, enough dry seed for planting again this year, as well as for the deer, who ate the plants back nearly to death, on three separate occasions, but they recovered quickly and continued producing throughout the summer. I am fencing in my garden this winter, and am looking forward to experiencing these beauties in all their glory!.

(Posted on 1/19/12)

 

Beautiful Review by Natasha

Overall Rating

 

I grew these in Haiti, and everyone was enthralled and wanted seeds. They are gorgeous and grew very well in partial shade in heavy black clay during the summer..

(Posted on 1/27/12)

 

Outstanding producer! Review by Jim Long

Overall Rating

 

This has become my favorite bean to grow. It's highly heat resistant, vigorous and productive from summer to fall. In just 10 ft. of fence, the vines produce more than my family can possibly use so I'm constantly giving beans away. Keep them picked every couple of days and they will just keep on producing more! The flowers are beautiful, too. I love this bean!.

(Posted on 2/15/12)