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  Bush beans: These beans get their name because they grow on a bush. They tend to produce the earliest crops, maturing all at once (within a week or so of each other); you have either feast or famine with these types.

  Pole beans: These beans need staking and usually grow on poles. They tend to mature their crops later than bush beans, but pole beans continue to produce all season until frost or disease stops them. (Luckily, home gardeners generally don't have to worry about disease resistance with their bean plants.)

  Dried beans: These are actually varieties of bush or pole beans. You can eat them fresh, like bush or pole beans, but they're better if you allow them to dry and then just eat the bean seeds. Growing dried beans is easy: Just plant them, care for them, and harvest them when the pods are dried and the plants are almost dead.

  Bush and pole beans actually are the same type of bean, just with different growth habits. Bush and pole beans often are called snap beans because they snap when you break their pods in half. Another name for these beans is string beans, because early varieties had a stringy texture. (Modern varieties don't have this texture, so this name isn't commonly used today.) Yellow snap varieties mature to a yellow color and are called wax beans. Don't get lost in the snap versus string discussion. Those are just names people have given to a bean eaten before the seeds inside begin to form.

  Beans harvested at different stages can be called different names. Consider the following:

  A bean harvested when it's young, before seeds have formed, is called a snap bean. They come in green, yellow, or purple depending on the variety.

  If a bean matures further and you harvest it when it's still young but the bean seeds are fully formed, it's called a shell bean.

  If the pod dries on the plant and then you harvest it, it's called a dried bean.

  Some bean varieties can be harvested at all stages. However, most bean varieties are best harvested at one particular stage — snap, shell, or dried — depending on their breeding (see the later section "Keep on pickin': Harvesting your crop" for details).

  Just for fun in this section — in addition to the bush, pole, and dried beans, I also list some other bean relatives that are tasty and have novel colors and shapes (they're unique). The days to maturity for all these beans represents the time from when you plant the seeds in the ground to when you harvest them. Bean appétit!

  Bushels of bush beans

  Bush bean plants generally are less than 2 feet tall and produce handfuls of beans at their one main harvest of the season. Depending on the variety, the beans are green, yellow, or purple. Most pods (the part of the bean that you eat)are 6 to 8 inches at maturity, but you can harvest beans that are flavorful sooner. If you need lots of beans all at once for canning or preserving, grow bush beans. Selecting among the various types is really just a matter of color and experimentation; try one and see if you like it. Here are a few of the most reliable varieties to grow:

  ‘Blue Lake 274': This big, meaty, green bean variety matures high yields (about 12 pounds for every 10 feet of row) in 55 days — even under adverse weather conditions. It also comes in a pole bean version.

  ‘Derby': This disease-resistant green bean is an All-America Selections winner (see Chapter 4) and features extra-tender pods and high yields 57 days from seeding.

  ‘Improved Golden Wax': This disease-resistant, yellow-bean variety produces broad, flat golden pods 52 days from seeding.

  ‘Jade': This heat-tolerant green bean produces huge yields of pencil-straight beans 60 days after seeding. It produces high-quality beans later into the season than other green bush beans, allowing you to extend your harvest time.

  ‘Kentucky Wonder': This classic green bean's round, green pods are produced prolifically on sturdy plants 57 days from seeding. It also comes in a pole bean variety.

  ‘Nash': This heavy yielding, disease-resistant variety grows well in the heat, so it's a good choice in hot-summer areas. Its green pods mature 54 days from seeding.

  ‘Provider': This variety has great disease resistance and can grow in adverse weather. Its green pods mature 50 days from seeding.

  ‘Roc d'Or Wax': This variety produces long, slender, round, bright yellow pods on sturdy plants in 53 days.

  ‘Roma II': This Romano-type bush bean has tender, flat pods and high yields earlier than Romano (53 days after seeding). The pods are slow to develop seeds and strings, so they stay tender longer.

  ‘Romano': This long, flat green bean is an Italian classic and also comes in a pole variety. The pods are known for their strong flavor and ability to stay tender even when they're large. This variety matures in 60 days. ‘Romano Gold' and ‘Romano Purpiat' are yellow and purple varieties, respectively, that grow similar to the original just with different-colored pods.

  ‘Royal Burgundy': This attractive purple-podded bean also has a purple tinge on its leaves, stems, and flowers. It matures in 55 days and turns dark green when cooked.

  Pole beans: The long and tall crop

  Many pole bean varieties share the names and characteristics of their bush bean counterparts. Pole beans mature more beans overall but start a week or so later than bush beans and produce only a handful of beans per day, which makes them great for small families. Pole beans keep producing beans until frost, in all but the hottest summer areas. You also can plant them in summer for a fall crop in warm areas.

  In the following list, I mention the pole beans that also have bush forms, plus some other well-producing and attractive pole varieties:

  ‘Blue Lake': See the bush variety in the preceding section.

  ‘Emerite': Think of this variety as a green filet bean (see the later section "Other beans") on poles. The tender, pencil-thin, 4- to 5-inch-long pods are produced 64 days from seeding.

  ‘Fortex': This variety produces extra-long (11-inch) pods that are stringless, tender, nutty, and savory. A French favorite, this productive green bean matures 60 days from seeding.

  ‘Goldmarie': This early yielding, wax pole bean variety produces 8-inch pods 54 days from seeding.

  ‘Kentucky Wonder': See the bush bean variety in the preceding section for a description. ‘Kentucky Wonder' also is available in a wax pole bean variety.

  ‘Purple Pod': This unique purple-colored variety grows on a 6-foot-tall plant. When you cook the bean, its color changes from purple to dark green. It matures 65 days from seeding.

  ‘Romano': See the bush bean variety in the preceding section.

  ‘Scarlet Runner': This beautiful, vigorous pole bean is actually in a different species than other pole beans (Phaseolus coccineus). It produces attractive scarlet red flowers, large hairy pods, and bean seeds that are edible 70 days from seeding. The pods can be eaten when young and the bean seeds are edible when dried. This variety tastes okay, but it usually is grown as an ornamental for its attractive flowers and colorful red and black bean seeds.

  The versatile shell and dried beans

  Shell and dried beans are some of the most versatile beans to grow because you can eat them at the snap, shell, or dried stages. Eaten at the shell stage (fully matured seeds in the pod, but the pod is still green) or dried stage, you're eating the seed inside the pod. These seeds come in colors from white to red and can even be striped and spotted. Dried beans are great baked and in soups and chowders.

  Most of the varieties in the following list are grown for their dried beans but also taste good at their shelling stage, too. They're the dried beans that most people are familiar with eating, and they're the tastiest to grow. The days to maturity represent the time from seeding to dried bean harvest. Most of these varieties are bushy plants:

  ‘Black Turtle': This small black bean matures 85 days from seeding and grows best in warmer climates. Each pod produces seven to eight beans, which are often baked as well as used in soups and casseroles.

  ‘Blue Speckled Tepary': This Southwest variety grows great in hot, dry conditions. The brown seeds with red speckles mature 90 days from seeding.
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  ‘Cannellini': This famous white, kidney-shaped bean is often used in minestrone soups. Large plants produce beans that are best when eaten at the shelling stage, which is 80 days from seeding.

  ‘French Horticultural': An old-time favorite, this tan-colored bean matures in 90 days. You also can eat this variety earlier as a shelling bean.

  ‘Jacob's Cattle': This bean gets its name from the cattle that Jacob, the biblical character, tended. It's white with splashes of maroon. This bean is best adapted to cooler weather. You'll find ‘Jacob's Cattle' great in baked bean dishes.

  ‘Navy': This small, semi-vining plant produces white, oval beans 85 days from seeding. These beans are excellent baked.

  ‘Pinto': A vining plant produces buff-colored, brown-speckled, dried beans 90 days from seeding; these beans are widely used in Mexican dishes. You also can grow this variety as a pole bean.

  ‘Red Kidney': This bushy plant produces large, red, kidney-shaped beans 100 days from seeding. These beans are used in many baked dishes. ‘Red Kidney' also comes as a white-seeded variety.

  ‘Soldier': This white, kidney-shaped bean with red markings produces 6 beans per pod 85 days from seeding. This bean is great baked and in stews.

  ‘Tongue of Fire': These 6- to 7-inch, red-streaked pods can be eaten shelled or dried. They mature to the shell stage 70 days from seeding.

  ‘Vermont Cranberry': This red, brown-speckled, New England classic dried bean is one of the most popular beans to grow. It matures 90 days from seeding and is widely adapted (can grow in a variety of geographic regions under a variety of weather conditions).

  Miscellaneous beans not to be forgotten

  Some variations on the common bean are exotic and fun to grow. The beans in this section are grown similarly to bush or pole beans but come in different shapes and flavors. Some of these beans aren't even in the same species as bush and pole beans, but they're grown the same way. The following sections show you a few of the best ones to try.

  Asparagus bean

  The asparagus bean (Vigna unguiculata sesquipedalis, or Yard-Long bean) is a pole bean that grows more than 10 feet tall and produces extremely long beans (up to 3 feet tall!). This variety is popular in Europe and Asia and is catching on in the United States. The asparagus bean takes a longer growing season to mature than traditional pole bean varieties, however. Most mature within 80 days from seeding. Some good varieties to look for include ‘Chinese Green Noodle' and ‘Red Noodle'. ‘Chinese Green Noodle' features long, thin green beans. The ‘Red Noodle' variety features burgundy-colored pods that hold and deepen their color to purple when cooked.

  Edamame

  Edamame (Glycine max), or Green Vegetable soybean, started as a novelty bean from Japan and has turned into a favorite in many home gardens and kitchens. Unlike the commercial soybean that's grown for animal feed, oil, and so on, this soybean is meant to be eaten at the green shell stage; it has a buttery, lima-bean flavor. Some varieties have green seeds and others black.

  ‘Envy' is the earliest maturing of the edamame varieties (75 days from seeding). ‘Black Pearl' is smaller than other soybean seeds and has a rich and distinctive flavor. Maturing in 85 days, it grows up to 3 feet tall and wide, so it needs more room than other varieties. ‘Butterbean', which matures in 90 days, is a high-yielding soybean with a sweet and buttery flavor and well-branched plants. ‘Sayamusume', which is a Pacific Northwest favorite, produces high yields of large soybeans with 3 to 4 soybeans per pod. This variety matures in 85 days.

  Edamame beans are a kid-sized treat. Children of all ages love to pop these buttery-flavored beans in their mouths after they're steamed.

  Fava bean

  The fava bean (Vigna acontifolia, or English Broad bean or Horse bean) is a popular English bean that grows on plants that are 2 to 3 feet tall; unlike other beans, the fava bean likes cold weather. You can harvest the 7-inch pods as snap or shell beans; they mature 85 days from seeding. Fava beans are a good alternative to lima beans in cold climates. ‘Windsor' is a good variety that produces 3 to 5 green seeds per pod 75 days after seeding.

  French filet

  The French filet bean (Haricot Vert) is a classic bean from France that has really caught on in the United States. This bean has been bred to be tender and stringless. Compact bush plants produce an abundance of these thin, textured, "melt-in-your-mouth" beans when harvested young. Pick them when they're less than 1/4-inch-thick, or they'll have started to mature, leaving the pods tough and stringy.

  You can choose from a number of varieties of French filet beans. Some of the best include the following: ‘Maxibel' (high yields of 7-inch-long, round beans); ‘Nickel' (heat and cold tolerant plants produce 4-inch-long beans); ‘Tavera' (very slender, 4- to 5-inch-long beans); and ‘Soleil' (a unique 4-inch-long, yellow-podded variety). All filet beans mature between 50 and 60 days from seeding.

  Lima bean

  Once you've eaten a fresh lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus, or Butter bean), you'll never settle for the canned version again. Lima beans come in bush and pole varieties and love a long, warm growing season. Fat pods, which are 4 to 8 inches long, produce 4 to 6 beans each that you harvest at the shell stage.

  One of the best bush varieties is ‘Fordhook 242', which matures in 75 days. It produces 3 to 5 white seeds per pod and is tolerant of both heat and cold. Another is ‘Jackson Wonder'. This "baby" lima produces 3 to 4 beans per pod and matures in 75 days, which makes it good for cooler climates. A good pole variety is ‘King of the Garden', which matures 88 days from seeding. It yields 4 to 6 large, cream-colored seeds per pod. ‘Florida Speckled Butter', another pole bean, matures in 85 days. Each pod produces 3 to 5 light-brown seeds speckled with maroon. The plant is heat- and drought-tolerant, making it a good Southern variety.

  Southern pea

  Although it's called a pea, the southern pea (Vigna unguiculata, or Cowpea) actually is more like a bean in growth and usage. Like limas, southern peas grow best in warm climates. The plants are either bush or semi-vining, and you harvest the pods about 60 days from seeding at the shell or dried stage. Some of the more famous types are Black-Eyed peas such as ‘Pink-Eyed Purple Hull', which is named for the black speck on the seed; Crowders such as ‘Mississippi Silver', named for the way the seeds grow jammed in the pod; and Cream peas such as ‘Lady', named for their smooth pod.

  More Peas, Please!

  One vegetable that's truly a treat to grow yourself is the pea, which is Pisum sativum botanically. In grocery stores, peas are available for only a short time, and their flavor isn't as sweet and tender as freshly picked pea pods. Some varieties grow to be huge and bushy, needing extra support to stand tall. Others are short and bushy and don't require fencing or support. Viny pea plants produce a grabbing shoot called a tendril that holds onto whatever it comes in contact with. Some novel types don't even bother growing leaves. In the following sections, I divide peas into three groups: English, snap, and snow. Mind your peas and take a look at some excellent varieties.

  A pea is described by the type of pods it has. Here are the categories:

  An English, or garden, pea has a tough pod with tender peas inside.

  A snap pea has tender peas inside but also an edible, sweet pod.

  A snow pea is harvested flat (that is, harvested before the pea seeds inside the pod form) mainly for its tender pea pod.

  English peas: The reliable standby

  Sometimes called the garden pea, the English pea is the pea that gardeners are most familiar with and that's most widely grown. In the following list, the days to maturity represent the time from seeding to harvest. Here are some of the most reliable varieties of English peas:

  ‘Alderman' (Tall Telephone): This old heirloom matures in about 74 days. Six-foot-tall vines produce a large number of 4- to 5-inch pods with 6 to 8 peas per pod.

  ‘Blondie': This new variety features 3-inch-long pods with 8 peas per pod. The yellow leaves and pale green pods and peas make this an eye-catching variety i
n the garden. It matures in 65 days and needs trellising (which I discuss in the later section "Spacing properly and providing support").

  ‘Feisty': This 30-inch-tall vine has few leaves and many tendrils, which makes the medium-sized pea pods with 6 to 8 peas per pod easier to harvest. The plant matures in 61 days.

  ‘Little Marvel': Even though it's a dwarf plant that grows only 18 to 20 inches tall, this pea plant produces heavy yields of 3-inch pods with 6 to 8 peas per pod. The plant matures in 62 days.

  ‘Maestro': A prolific early variety matures in 60 days and reaches only 2 feet tall but produces 4- to 5-inch pods with 9 to 11 peas per pod on powdery mildew-resistant plants.

  ‘Mr. Big': This All-America-Selections-winning (see Chapter 4), disease-resistant variety is a big producer that matures in 67 days. The 5- to 6-foot-tall vines produce 4- to 5-inch-long pods with up to 10 peas per pod.

  ‘Petit Pois': This novel baby pea (the pea seed inside the pod is smaller than the normal pea seed) is extra sweet and tender. It produces 6 to 7 peas per pod. The plants are 20 inches tall and produce peas in 58 days.

  ‘Wando': This very productive, warm weather variety grows 3 feet tall and produces 7 to 8 peas per pod in 68 days.

  Sweet and tender snap peas

  Snap peas were once the new peas on the block. Now they have become a mainstay in many gardens. Snap pea pods fill out (the pea seed inside the pod forms) like an English pea, but they have a sweet, tender pod like a snow pea. Some newer varieties are considered stringless. The plants range from the original ‘Super Snap' that grows to 8 feet tall to the diminutive ‘Sugar Bon' that grows to less than 2 feet tall. Kids love snap peas, and they're as easy to grow as English peas.