Kitchen Garden Forum

I am growing Snake Bean, Yard Long or Long Bean -as Alan said lots of names for the same thing. First time i've tried them this year - and a resounding success they have been - but here is the downside which is the conditions as they were grown in a polytunnel South of France. Sown late March and again late July

I hadn't much expectation for them after previous discussions as most people thought them a poor crop. However, I am not sure what I've done right, but the crop was fantastic. Pods 50-60cm in length pale green dense with a slightly mushroom flavour. The beans store very well 2 or more weeks in the fridge without deteriorating. The flowers are in pairs and a very pale orange/pink (seed a dark red/brown when matured). They grow very fast (the July sown ones are 2ft foot plus)and mine CLIMB I had to put more wires up to the roof of the poly which is 15ft, so they had somewhere to go and some continued and grew round the top of the tunnel.

Personally i found i liked them better than french beans because: they stored well, did not go stringy, cropped for longer (3 months) and have more flavour. I have a second crop in now and hope to be harvesting until beginning of November.

The seeds i have were from Franchi and are called stringa a grano bruno (which i think just means brown seeded string bean) Alan you know Italian- is that right??

Anyway they are really delicious and perfect stir fried with a little oil but even better dry fried until they actually start to catch and burn on the edges - an unusual way of cooking but it really works on these beans, also great chucked in oriental style soups and for Indian style bean dishes.

There are pictures of them growing and harvest and cooking on my site.
http://www.masdudiable.com/fluxit/mdd.n ... e-2007.htm
http://www.masdudiable.com/fluxit/mdd.n ... e-2007.htm

http://www.masdudiable.com/fluxit/mdd.n ... -Beans.htm

Anyway - it is possible the seed source didn't do you any favours FatB so if you want me to stick a few seeds in my tunnel next year and see if they come out as well as the Franchi ones, happy to do so, at least you could discount that factor. It may be that it is climate tho. I have given some seeds to a friend who is going to try growing in South London so i'll keep you posted next year.

CJ

stringa a grano bruno

Quite right = Brown-seeded String (Bean)

Alan

Hello FatB - just got back from hols a little early and fascinated to hear you've actually managed to eat some of your beans and to see the photo of beans in a Chinese shop which Colin posted. So what did you think of the taste? How did they compare to runner beans and French beans? Judging by the disappointing past efforts of others who've tried growing them, you've done well. Was it worth the effort and would you grow them again? Look forward to seeing your photo.

We've had a couple of meals from them now, and when you get them young, say about a foot long, then they are fine.
Not the same as French Beans but fine in their own way. I shan't grow them again, because they are pretty slow to develop, difficult to grow on, and no better than French Beans when you get them. An interesting experiment though.

Thanks for sharing experience with us. I still wish I could have grown a few for myself, if only to say I'd tried but at least I understand now that I probably wouldn't have been very successful, even if my few beans hadn't rotted. You have probably saved me a disappointment, and I've already had a few of them this year. However, my major saving grace this summer has been the survival of 21 out of 24 of my outdoor tomatoes, despite developing early signs of blight so I must be grateful for small mercies.

So, now that you've had a go at Yard Long beanz, why not try Yin Yang beans:


You don't have to be Taoist to enjoy them. Got my first batch in this year, and they really do turn out like this! Sadly the colours/design fades when you cook them, but it's still a fascinating coincidence of nature!

Colin

They look fantastic, how do they taste?
I think you've sorted out my bean experiment for next year!

FatB wrote:They look fantastic, how do they taste?

I've deliberately left them on the plant to get as ripe as possible. The leaves & pods are quite yellow now, so I think they're almost done but it may be a couple more weeks before I try cooking them.

In the meantime, to get youre taste buds going, here's a quote from some of the sites I've just Googled:
"They are smoothly textured with a good mild flavour and are great for baked dishes and stews and make a tasty cassoulet; they add visual appeal to almost any recipe or salad"

More info here:
http://www.edirectory.co.uk/chilternseeds/pages/moreinfo.asp?pe=DBFBFDAEQ_+bean+wax+wax+bean+yin+yang&cid=211

Info on several beans here:
http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/seeds/pages/veg1-runner-beans.htm

Enjoy!

Colin

Thanks for that Colin, I've read up on them and will be giving them a try next year.