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dancinglemons

Need Info r/t July/August pole beans Z 6 & 7

dancinglemons
14 years ago

Hello all,

If you have planted pole beans in mid-July/August please post your results. I am doing an experiment and need information. If you live in zone 6 or 7 and have planted pole beans in mid-July or August -- please post any information you have on harvest, disease and vigor of plants.

Thanks!!

DL

Comments (6)

  • rodger
    14 years ago

    I see you have two similar posts. But to answer your question there are beans that do best in the fall due to day light sensitivity. These beans are typically called fall beans and the ones I have are good shelly beans, so all my shelly bean crop is a fall crop. Some of the other hard core bean growers like MacMex, Zeedman, Fussion power, Farmerdilla,Jimster please join in with your expiences I need the info for my lecture at Monticello. I also have good results with other pole beans and I rarely plant bush beans but I have done some years back in the fall. The yield is lower and so is the vigor of the plant compared to spring but there is still a good crop of beans and just as tasty and much easier to find since less vine cover. Fall is usually when I can get most of my trail beans and seed from seed swaps planted for growouts to replenish seed stock or observation. Spring beans are usually for large seed crop grow outs and my home canning but I could plant more and can them in the fall when it is much cooler. Rodger

  • dancinglemons
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks for the info rodger. I like to do experiments in my garden and for some reason this year beans are it. You are in zone 8 but I can work with z8 information. I posted similar info twice because my first post was not exactly what it should have been. The lecture at Monticello -- is this TJ's Monticello in Virginia?? If so I may try to attend.

    Cheers,
    DL

  • rodger
    14 years ago

    yes. that is TJ Monticello bellow is a link. Rodger

    Here is a link that might be useful: Heritage Harvest Festival

  • zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
    14 years ago

    My son was kind enough to let me use his computer; mine appears to have gone down for the count.

    While I grow a lot of beans, I'm not sure how much I can contribute to the original question. My growing season here is too short to allow me much flexibility - I routinely start my limas & long-season pole beans early as transplants (which works very well). "Fall beans" usually make it if I can direct-seed them early, but they require the full season to do so... if growing them for seed, I usually start them as transplants.

    If I plant beans late here, it is only because weather prevented me from planting them on time. 2008 was such a year. Fortunately, most of the varieties grown for seed were already started as transplants, so they were still successful... but for beans that were to be direct-seeded, I changed my plans & planted faster-maturing varieties. In place of "Ma Williams" (the pole shelly planned last year) I planted the bush "PI 507984", which far exceeded my expectations. (I was pleasantly surprised to see it is now carried by a Canadian seed company, although under a different "heirloom" name... the seeds are quite distinctive.)

    For Fall planting, bush beans & fast-maturing pole varieties like "Goldmarie" & "Early Riser" would be my first choices. But unless grown for seed, almost any snap variety should do well if planted in mid-Summer (like now) for Fall harvest. Some varieties even seem to sweeten up when grown under more temperate conditions. When I lived in SoCal, I preferred the late crop for freezing. Swiss chard & some green peppers are also at their prime when planted late, to be harvested just prior to frost.

    Runner beans are well suited to late planting - especially in the warmer zones. They are very heat-sensitive, so early plantings set few pods. Mine only set pods early in cooler years; most years, pods don't appear until late Summer, following a period of cooler weather. Planted late, they will begin flowering in as little as 30 days, and will set pods well in the cooler days of late Summer / early Autumn.

    Rodger, I hope to see you in Monticello. I'm planning to be there, provided I can get away from work that weekend (which is not a given). If you are familiar with the area, I may be contacting you off-line for recommendations. My email responses will be slow, though, since I will be using the computers of others.

  • fusion_power
    14 years ago

    I have grown a fall crop of beans several times over the years. North Alabama weather is very conducive to getting a decent crop. The most adapted beans for this use are the various "October" varieties, most of which are bush types. I have grown Kentucky Wonder pole beans and harvested a good crop in early November. I would not recommend this since we normally get a heavy frost by mid October, I just got lucky that year. I am growing Dragon Langerie and Black Turtle Soup beans as a fall crop this year. I also have a row of Blue Marbut beans started for fall though I don't yet know how they will do since they were planted the first week of July. This is the first time I have tried them for a fall crop.

    DarJones

  • dancinglemons
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks one and all!! I humbly apologize for all of the postings asking almost the same thing. I now have much needed information for my project. Hope to get even more information for the project in Charlottesville at the Festival.

    Thanks, thanks and thanks again!!!!!!!

    DL

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