Let the first pods, usually on the bottom of the vines, go to seed and pick some but not all of the rest.

It could be a real race... "Fortex" is very slow to develop seed. Took over 100 days to dry seed here.

Happyday's advice is sound, you are probably better off letting the first few pods ripen on each plant, rather than setting one plant aside. Letting a few pods go on each vine - say, 5-6 - will not have a noticeable effect on the yield.

Oh, thank you, guys. I would never have thought of that! Happday, what you do you mean "pick some, but NOT ALL of the rest"? Why? Just curious.

If you pick some snaps which you want, it will stimulate more bean set. If you leave a few on each vine it will not inhibit more bean set, like Zeedman said. The ones you leave have a chance to make it to the dry stage if you don't pick them. By doing it this way you may end up with more snaps and more dry beans than if you had let one vine go all to seed and picked the others.

But it's up to you what to do. The most important thing is to let the first ones go to seed on all the vines so that you get the most time to mature dry seed, since you are starting so late. If you did let one vine go all to seed, starting this late, you would probably end up with a few dry ones on the bottom and all the top pods still in the green stage by frost. Better to get planted in spring if you want to be sure of an entire vines worth of dry seed.

Okay. I surely have learned alot from this forum! Since seed packets always say "keep picked to insure continued production" I assumed that meant if you left ANY beans on the vine, it would slow them down or even stop them from making anymore at all. It makes perfect sense to leave the first ones on the vines for seed production. I will do just what you all say. You, after all, are the experts. Thanks to you both!