Most people who plant pole beans plant a "row" of them. One cannot expect to get several pounds of beans from one plant as one would from tomatoes. With good fertilization, water, freedom from pests one should expect to harvest for 3-4 weeks, but only a hand full at a time from one plant.

I never got good yields on pole beans with several varieties I tried. Finally, a friend gave me some local seed of Rattlesnake (?) pole beans. They are great. The plants are very vigorous, very productive, and produce over a long time - about 1 month of very high production and then 1-2 more months of declining production. The beans are large and purple striped. The only downside is the pods are not completely stringless, especially if they hold on the plant. I have seen the seeds in local hardware, feed, and garden stores that deal with more local varieties that they buy in bulk and repackage.