I always grow yard long beans. It's the only bean I have tried that will produce all summer in my Northern California zone 9B garden. I gathered the dried beans in 2023 and have been growing them since. This year I thought maybe they are getting a little old, so I bought green yard long beans a Botanical Interest seed, and a red Chinese long bean from Bakers Creek. I planted one of each, 1,2,3,1,2,3,... I didn't count them, but I planted very densely, and there didn't appear to be any empty spots, if I didn't get 100% gremination, I got pretty close.
At this time of the summer we are kind of burnt out on Beans. Even though I have been talking lots to work, I still have tons of dried beans on the vine. I picked a bunch today to save. The beans are mostly kind of red, some tan, and some black. size very, but I have never noticed a difference when I grow a small bean versus a large one (I don't save very small beans, or deformed ones) 2 of the pods had beans that are red and tan/off white. I have never seen that in this kind of bean before. I have always planted green and red long beans together. The only real difference I can think of is I did have a bush bean growing at the same time for quite a while. Usually by the time the long beans are producing the regular beans have stopped producing. But not this year.( we had a pretty mild summer compared to normal). I was under the understanding that the yard long beans are not a true bean, so it doesn't seem like they would cross, but I don't know anything about seed breading.
What do you think? Is it a cross between the varieties? a disease? Should I keep them and plant them next year?
Thanks
PXL_20260908_030405576.MP.jpg
The top two are what the Beans usually look like
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln
Joseph Lofthouse
author & steward
Posts: 7570
Location: Cache Valley, zone 4b, Irrigated, 9" rain in badlands.