A few varieties are "bush", but they would usually indicate that as part of their name.

If your beans are from China, I am a collector of yardlong beans, and would be very interested in a trade. I have much to choose from in exchange, including other yardlong varieties & seed from over 200 other vegetables. Contact me via my member page if you might be interested.

The pods are a medium to dark green and the seeds are small and brown. I'd always thought there was just the one kind of longbeans and never looked for other varieties. These do get about 2-3 feet long if allowed to fully mature, but they are best at about 12 inches.

There are quite a few yardlong cultivars available from seed companies in the U.S., and many more in cultivation throughout Asia. Here, Evergreen Y. H., Kitazawa, & Baker Creek carry a good selection. The pods can vary from light green, to dark green, to purple; the seeds can be red, brown, white, black, or some combination.

Unfortunately, not all yardlongs will do well in my Northern location. Some are daylength-sensitive, and will not bloom until September; others just require a longer season or more heat than my climate can provide. The black-seeded cultivars seem to be more tolerant of cool weather. But for those in the hot, humid South, most of them will prosper.

This year, I am trialing three varieties from the Philippines (seeds brown or brown & white), and one from Malaysia (white-seeded). One of the Filipino varieties is supposed to be "bush"... to what extent remains to be seen. The Malaysian variety is very long-podded, so I hope it proves to be adaptable. If any of these fail to ripen seed here, I will offer the remaining seed to serious seed savers in warmer climes.

"Liana" (a black-seeded cultivar) is the earliest, bears heavily, and tolerates cool weather better than most. Pods are medium green, and are best when harvested at around 18" in length (less than pencil thick). The table quality is good, with the real "asparagus bean" flavor when lightly cooked (stir frying is best). It is the most reliable variety for the North, or perhaps for a Fall planting in the South. There are many sources... it is pretty much the standard, with good reason.

I first saw "Chinese Red Noodle" offered by Baker Creek, but it has since gained in popularity & is now offered by several others as well. It is slower-growing than many, and not the best climber; it requires a considerable amount of training to get the vines started. It also requires - and tolerates - more heat... bad for those of us in the North, but good for those in the warmer Southern climes.

In addition to "Red Noodle's" reluctance to climb, it matures fairly late, has some of the shortest pods (around 12" at prime), and is not the highest yielder... so why do I recommend it? Because the table quality is _outstanding_. It has a firmer texture when cooked, a slightly sweet nutty flavor, and a beautiful purple color. Unlike purple snap beans, the color does not disappear when cooked... the beans may turn bluish, but a touch of vinegar added to the kettle (or the dish) will restore them to a deep purplish-red. In soups (with a small amount of vinegar added) it produces a deep wine-red broth. The beans also freeze well.

Nightbloomincereus, I tried to contact you via your member page regarding a trade, with no success. Your reply could have been cut out by my spam filter, as I have caught several in the "delete" folder lately. I'll try again through your email... but if you read this first, let me know if you might be interested.

This has been an odd year for me... my yardlongs just sat there for much of July, and are only now beginning to climb. They are probably 3-4 weeks behind where they should be. Has anyone else experienced a similar problem?

As I mentioned above, I have been trying three yardlongs from the Philippines, one from Malaysia. The Malaysian variety, "Long White Snake", appears to be either very long season, or daylength sensitive - while the vines are rampant, it has yet to bloom. The foliage is lush, so it might be good for those who cook the leaves... if it gets no pods before frost, I may try it.

The Philippine yardlongs (and several other Philippine vegetables also trialed this year) have succeeded far beyond my expectations.

"Galante" is a strong climber, with very straight, medium-green pods with a somewhat rough exterior. They grow up to 24" long in harvestable stage, and develop seeds very slowly, so they remain tender for a fairly long period. When cooked, they stay firm, and are slightly sweet.

Galante

"Sierra Madre" does not climb as strongly, more of a half-runner habit. Its crop is borne mainly close to the ground... but the beans are full-sized, 20-24". They are dark green, wrinkled, and grow very large (as wide as snap beans) while remaining tender. When cooked, they shrink somewhat, and resemble snap beans in both flavor & texture. For those in the deep South where snap beans struggle, and those who don't like the flavor of most yardlongs, this could be a good alternative.

Sierra Madre - note the 3/8" rebar for size comparison

Comparison of the pods - both are close to 24" when stretched out

I cooked both of them using the same recipe, with pork, onions, garlic, and soy sauce. Surprisingly, "Sierra Madre" developed a dark, flavorful broth as it cooked down.

The last variety couldn't exactly be called "yardlong"; the pods are only 7-8" long at prime stage. "Bush Sitao Var. BS-3" has pods are medium-green, with a somewhat rough exterior that closely resembles "Galante". I had wondered if it would turn out to be a true bush... the photo tells all.

Bush Sitao Var. BS-3

Haven't tried this cooked yet... but raw, the pods are extremely crunchy, with a mildly sweet flavor. I am mostly letting the pods grow for seed (other than some taste testing) but the plant's habit seems to indicate a very high yield potential if kept picked.

Sierra Madre (left) vs. Galante (right) taste test (w/bitter melon, egg & tomato in background)

Hey, who said testing had to be dull? ;-)

I also like your choice to show them in cooked dishes. If people knew how good these beans tasted, that would surely make them one of the most popular vegetables in the Western world as well.

Please tell me what link I'm missing to be able to post my pictures in my text instead of putting them in Garden Gallery and making necessary a click-trip to view them.

If it requires access to my computer via internet, it will be a problem, as my ISP is not very reliable, and my service is often down for many hours at a time.

Jan in Arkansas Ozarks

Open an account on a free image hosting site such as Photobucket.com. Follow their instructions for storing your images on that site.

Photobucket will give each image an HTML tag which will appear beneath the image. Copy that tag and paste it into your Garden Web post where you want the image to appear. That's it!

Jim