Yardlong Green - Pole Bean

Description

Also called Snake Bean, Chinese Noodle Bean or Asparagus Bean, these unique beans grow on twining, delicate stems with a tenacious root system. The plants bloom in mid-summer with pairs of large white or purple flowers. Once pollinated, the flowers are followed by tiny dark green beans that reach around 30cm in only a few days. The beans can grow up to 70cm, ripening to pale green and inflating as the seeds ripen.

A true legume, the Yardlong bean enriches the soil by fixing atmospheric nitrogen in nodules on its roots. With the help of nitrogen fixing bacteria the plant will make its own food.

Yardlong beans thrive in heat but are very sensitive to cold temperatures, so sow after all danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed. This warm-season crop can be planted in a wide range of climatic conditions. It can tolerate heat, low rainfall and arid soils, but the pods become short and fibrous with low soil moisture.

Edible pods should be picked while the skin is still smooth, before the seeds mature and expand, and when they still snap when bent. At this tender stage they can be cooked in stews, boiled and seasoned with lemon juice and oil or simply simmered in butter or oil and garlic. The pale green bean is meatier and sweeter than the dark green bean, which has a less delicate taste. The mature bean is often dried, stored and later cooked as a pulse or used as bean sprouts by soaking in water and allowing them to sprout. The young leaves and stem tips can be steamed and eaten as a green vegetable. Yardlong beans have a more dense texture than those of snap beans and a more intense "bean" flavour. Their texture and flavour hold up well when stir-fried or steamed.

You may need to harvest daily since continuous picking keeps the plants producing. The plants will stop producing if beans are left to fully mature. Although the beans will keep several days in the refrigerator they are best eaten soon after harvesting. They can also be blanched and frozen for winter storage. 60 Days.

Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis - Pole variety.

Seeds/Packet: (min. 20 Seeds)

Please see the Beans category page for detailed Growing Instructions or download the PDF guide from this page.