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Went outside after the rain to check te plants, and found little green beans growing!! How big do they need to grow, are they like the peas, do I need to wit until they are plump in the middle? Please help me to know when I pick these?!! Tammt

I posted a description here: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=85034&sid=c0f0a6597668e34183778397a9e113e0

You can use my method or freedhardwoods' depending on your production level.

I agree with applestar also...not long now you'll have nice fresh beans...It will be awhile for me let, there are only buds and if I'm lucky a handful of pods 1/2 in long...

Thanks I will be soon harvesting beans!!! I have two containerss of bush beans, and they still have alot of buds between them. So will have quite alot, but that's alright nobody but me likes breans, so I will have them all to myself!!! Tammy

Post some pics! I'll try to get a few pics of my yellow bush beans and we can do a little compare and contrast. Mine are slightly behind yours. I've got lots of flowers but no pods just yet.

Will do when I figure this picture posting thing out!!! Tammy

Bush green beans should be 4 to 5 inches in length and as big around as a pencil. The little bean seeds in the pod should be small, less than a quarter of an inch. Do not wait until the pods fill out like peas. On peas you are after the seed, but on the green beans you are after the tender pod. Good bush beans snap readily and do not have strings. Enjoy!

Thanks for the info., I will remember that when the time comes and they get a little bigger. Tammy

It depends on what type beans you planted to how large they will get. I plant Blue Lake Bush beans they get about 4 to 5 inches long and a little larger in diameter than a pencil. I pick them before the beans form inside the pods because I do not like tough stringy beans. Pick early and they have better flavor. I would rather have small beans with good flavor than large fat beans that are not as good. You want the beans to be tender if you bend a bean and is snaps and breaks then it is fine but if the bean does not break but only bends then you waited too late to pick. Tough beans are like chewing up rubber bands. I usually pick 3 crops of beans from my plants. The 1st crop is very large, the 2nd crop is much smaller, the 3rd crop is even smaller. August here is usually 100+ degrees very hot and very dry and my beans usually die so I pull them up and use the space to plant something different. We are having some strange weather this years, we just had 6 days of rain, over cast all day, not hot, my beans are doing fine this year, not sure how long this will last. I will probably pick another crop of beans tomorrow. I am not sure what my beans will do if the weather continues to be rain and not get hot so I will probably pull them all up anyway. If I wait a few more weeks to see if my plants make more beans it may be to late to plant something else in that row.

Thanks gary350, for the very informative info, I will remember to pick when they three to four in. and they snap!!!! Also jmoore, I'm soory to disappoint you, I did take pictures of my beans, but my husbands new computer has no place to download my camaras disc, plus I could not figure out the photobucket download nither, so it might be awhile for my pictures!!!! But I would love to see your pictures!!!! Tammy

Tammy42 wrote:Thanks gary350, for the very informative info, I will remember to pick when they three to four in. and they snap!!!! Also jmoore, I'm soory to disappoint you, I did take pictures of my beans, but my husbands new computer has no place to download my camaras disc, plus I could not figure out the photobucket download nither, so it might be awhile for my pictures!!!! But I would love to see your pictures!!!! Tammy

Pic downloading and posting is not difficult. You just need someone to show you how to do it once or twice. I know it can be daunting the first few times you try it. But if my wife can do it, anyone can.

I forgot to take pics of my plants this weekend as well. It's flowering well, but I can't see any beans yet. We had a couple of days of rain last week so I'm hoping the extra water and cooler temps move them along. I'm out of town for work this week so I'm hoping for a pleasant surprise when I get back. And I'll remember to take pics!

Tammy42 wrote:Thanks gary350, for the very informative info, I will remember to pick when they three to four in. and they snap!!!! Also jmoore, I'm soory to disappoint you, I did take pictures of my beans, but my husbands new computer has no place to download my camaras disc, plus I could not figure out the photobucket download nither, so it might be awhile for my pictures!!!! But I would love to see your pictures!!!! Tammy

I'm in your club Tammy. I took pics but can't find the cord to put them onto my PC. And even if I find the cord I don't know if I'll figure the rest out.
I still don't have an avatar because I can't figure it out.
It's that upload word that gets me.

What can be done with big over-ripe leathery beans? Do you dry and shell them?

OK, I finally got around to uploading some pics. Here they are.

Here's my yellow bush bean plant
[img]https://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z232/jason_moore_texas/IMG_1055.jpg[/img]

Random buds
[img]https://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z232/jason_moore_texas/IMG_1056.jpg[/img]

Actual beans!
[img]https://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z232/jason_moore_texas/IMG_1057.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z232/jason_moore_texas/IMG_1058.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z232/jason_moore_texas/IMG_1059.jpg[/img]

And a fat cuke for good measure
[img]https://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z232/jason_moore_texas/IMG_1061.jpg[/img]

Here's my entire tiny garden that gives me so many fits. Green beans, yellow beans, cukes, bell pepper, jalapeno and one small pumpkin plant that's hanging on OK.
[img]https://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z232/jason_moore_texas/IMG_1065.jpg[/img]

Great pictures jmoore of you beans, their plants and cukes!!! Wanted everyone to know I finally harvested some of my green beans yesterday, I got four off one plant and five off the other, so total nine all together!!! I dhould have some more proably around the end of this week!!!! How about preserving them- I mean freezing them- want to keep these ones good until I have enough to cook- another website said to blanch then freeze, is this right? Thanks, Tammy

woodman wrote:What can be done with big over-ripe leathery beans? Do you dry and shell them?

Sometimes overripe and leathery is still edible when cooked for a while in soup. Make sure to break them in several places and pull the strings off. If I KNOW the pods are too hard to eat, I shell them (not waiting to dry) and cook just the filled out beans with the rest of the beans. They are yummy. I thin if I do get a fully ripe pod I would dry it and use the seeds for 2nd planting or save them for next year.

Enjoy your beans Tammy! Check out the green beans in soy/peanut butter sauce recipe I posted in the Recipe thread (Non-Gardening forum, I think) This is the only way DH eats green beans.

Nice garden jmoore. Looks like you have room to expand.

Diane wrote:Nice garden jmoore. Looks like you have room to expand.

Thanks!

Definitely have some more room. The green beans have grown through the fence and there is actually almost as much plant on the other side as there is in that pic. And that's where all the buds are. I think next year I'll just plant them over there and they will probably do better.

The big open spot in the middle was where I had some English peas. I planted them late so they got scorched when the temp shot up. I'm leaving it mostly open for the pumpkin to take over. I should really put something else in there for the fall.

On another note, I picked one yellow bean last night. I popped it in the microwave for about 10 seconds and then we all took a bite. It was a very tasty single bean

I'll have to try beans everyone seems to love theirs.