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Has anyone grown Chinese yard long beans? Are they 65 day crop or longer? Bush beans or pole beans? Online information says, they are soft beans with mild asparagus-like flavor best picked when 12" to 20" long. What are the challenges of growing these?

I have grown them for two years and red noodle beans for one. I like the texture better than regular green beans. We usually saute them with garlic. They are even good raw in salads if picked young. They produce well all summer and aren't bothered too much by hot weather until it gets extreme. You don't have to pick very many to make a meal. An added plus is that they are a favorite treat for my dogs.

They are easier to grow than green beans. They are very heat tolerant and like hot dry conditions. They can get some fungal problems when monsoons come. I don't really think they taste anything like asparagus. They are good in Asian stir fries and Filipino dishes. I cook it with bacon, garlic, onion, soy and a little sugar. They are more tender if you pick them shorter before the beans start to bulge. It is very prolific and the beans like to wander. They will climb anything fences, trees, teepees.

I’m growing the kind called “red noodle beans” this year and loving them now that they have started producing. The red ones don’t turn green on cooking, but turn darker purplish color.


- patio table slats are 2” on the center-

Only problems I’m experiencing so far are ...
- if I see some that are slender and long and note to pick them next day... and then can’t get to them, then by the day after, they are way long and have started to bulge (still OK, looks like your photo — but I hurry to harvest them then)
- tiny sugar ants have discovered them and are always swarming the stem end. Not noticeably damaging anything, but will immediately get on my hands and up my wrists if I keep holding the harvested beans. So rather than trying to pull them off the way I do with other kinds of beans, I use pruners to cut them off and immediately put them in my harvest bucket (and rinse in full buckets of water before bringing them in the kitchen)
- they don’t turn green when cooked so it’s harder to tell when they have cooked enough but are not overcooked. I have been adding the few Blue Coco Beans (which are like Purple Podded Pole beans) that are starting harvest with red noodle beans when cooking to act as indicator.

We have 2 cats. They each have favorite vegetables and some that they both like. One of them has always loved beans. This year, they both beg for ends of the red noodle beans.

I've grown a bunch of varieties of long beans through the years. Most of the green ones seem to hollow out early, but the red noodles stay firm, even when 30 inches long! They don't start producing until around 85 days; others a little earlier, but still later than most pole beans. I wasn't crazy about the Chinese Red Mosaic bean. Not as long as the noodle, and not as productive, in my garden. A green Thai Noodle bean that I grew once produced the longest bean I ever grew - 42" - but it didn't start flowering until late August. I think it had something to do with the length of the day that triggered it. Not sold any more by Baker's, so others may have had the same issue.

My red noodles are just starting to produce, though they were started late. They often have gotten rust on the leaves, though they don't seem to get killed by it. I spray some KHCO3 every 10 days or so, as a prophylactic.

I have not grown them. Thanks for sharing.

What about seed spacing & row spacing?

Is it too late to plant now I have about 75 days until first frost?

According to my forum posts, I sowed mine directly in the ground on 6/11 and harvested first pair of beans on 8/9. Fall growth will slow down due to lower night temp and shorter days, so they usually say to add another 7-10 days.

As mentioned by others, this is a variety touted for their staying power in hot weather so it’s a bit chancy, I think. But I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to plant a trial patch?

Applestar you grew them in 2 months. Online says, yard long beans are 85 day crop. Factor in colder weather I think its too late, about 3 weeks to late. If I had a green house with temperature control I could probably plant them. Maybe not days will be 2 hours shorter Nov 1st, sun will be low in the sky 58 degrees. I think we have an early winter this year geese & ducks are already flying south and weather has been colder than normal.

Tropical plants are usually heat tolerant but don't handle cold at all.
https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_viuns2.pdf

Here is the first red noodle bean in my garden. I had almost given up on them way back, figuring that rabbits had eaten those, too, but eventually 6 plants popped up. It's been just over 80- days since planting (June 2nd).
Surprisingly, none of these vines have a hint of rust on them, despite the wetness this summer, which has been a problem with these in the past. Only 3 beans, so far, but a bunch of flowers starting deep in those vines.
IMG_20180822_163434057_HDR by pepperhead212, on Flickr

It does take about 85 days in the tropics because our days are shorter, but they produce for a very long time. They are not cold hardy though. They may mature faster where the days are longer.

I became curious enough to find out more — I received the seeds for the one I’m growing in trade — labeled Red Noodle beans — so didn’t do my customary thorough pre-purchase reading.

I knew Kitazawa seeds listed more than one that look similar. What struck me is description says Red Noodle loses color when cooked. The ones I have turn dark color. Which probably means these are actually NOT Red Noodle variety. From Kitazawa’s offerings, Purple Red Mart is the closer candidate, and is described as 70 day. HOWEVER, Red Noodle is described as 50-80 day.

Purple Red Mart
https://www.kitazawaseed.com/seed_502-11.html

Red Noodle
https://www.kitazawaseed.com/seed_263-11.html

Applestar, Red noodle never lost its color when I cooked it, unlike purple beans I have grown. It would get a little darker, but that's it. And the descriptions that I had read about red noodle said that they kept their color when cooked. Bakers Creek says that "it keeps most of its color when sautéed".

I planted yard long beans yesterday I am counting on a 60 day crop like Applestar had that should give me beans to pick about Oct 26. Last year our first frost was Nov 7 some years we have frost before Halloween. If I have to I will cover plants with a tarp to protect them from frost. I hope I get 1 harvest then I will know if I want to plant more yard long beans next spring.

Good luck on the beans.