Harvesting: Dried Beans

Sunday, January 16, 2022

I grew a new type (or two) of bean in the garden in 2021. Namely, beans that can be eaten as shell beans or dried beans, not just green beans! I grew Painted Pony Beans which are meant to be dried, but ~5 plants produced about 0.5 cups of dried beans. Not really enough to be eaten.

The semi-vined French Horticultural Beans from Hart's, were far more successful, with ~5 plants producing ~1.5 cups

These beans tasted good when eaten green (with just a touch of pink streaks), and could also work fine as shell beans (past ripeness for "green", but before they're fully dried). I mostly let the pods dry out all season on the vine, though. Right before frost, I pulled up the plants and hung them up in the basement for 2 weeks to fully dry out.

Once the pods were brittle, they were ready to be busted open, and the beans were ready to be stored (or used as seed again for next year).

Next year, I think I'll halve the number of Kentucky Wonder Green Beans I grow (only along the back trellis), and double or even quadruple the number of French Horitcultural Beans, so that I can have tasty beans fresh, or preserved for over winter (good for the next ~5 years)!