Found winning green bean variety

10 years ago

I've been "testing" Kentucky Blue Pole versus a new variety for me, Monti Cristo side by side in my small, Pacific NW garden. The results are in and the winner is: Monti Cristo. They are just as tasty, more productive, seem less prone to wilting. and produce longer bean pods that are less prone to getting chewy and stringy if you pick them a little past their prime. In the picture, the Monti Cristo are the beans on top, Kentucky Blue below.

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Comments (8)

hementia8
10 years ago
Monte Cristo did well for me here on the Gulf Coast and is still producing despite the heat.
I have collected at least a pint of seed for next year
Charlie

This post was edited by hementia8 on Fri, Aug 16, 13 at 16:54
drloyd
10 years ago
Thank you for the reports. Charlie, it appears that no one has offered that one in the SSE Yearbook. Hint hint! Dick
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hementia8
10 years ago
Dick,I should have plenty to offer in SSE Yearbook
I am also looking for a trade for Barksdale which I grew many years ago and have since lost the seed
Charlie
galina
10 years ago
Monti Cristo must be s o m e bean to beat Kentucky Blue! Just the last week I have been comparing KB with others, such as Cobra, and KB wins hands down. Never heard of Monti Cristo before. One to look out for :-)

Just checked and it appears that in the USA Territorial Seeds sell them (called Montecristo) and in the UK Marshall seeds stock them. Apparently it is a very modern bean with Kentucky Wonder in its ancestry.

This post was edited by galina on Fri, Aug 16, 13 at 1:40
drloyd
10 years ago
There do not appear to be any references to this bean in the SSE history under either name. Territorial says: "thanks to advancements in pole bean breeding, Monte Cristo is a new generation of the ever-popular Blue Lake type of bean. Straight, tender, bright green beans reach an astounding 10 inches long. Highly productive plants yield loads of uniform, tender and flavorful, rounded pods. We found them very well suited for fresh eating, cooking, and preserving. White seeds." So is Monti Cristo the same bean and which spelling is correct? - Dick
hementia8
10 years ago
I checked the spelling and I have MONTE CRISTO the same name as the Greek island
I have corrected my above post
Charlie
spot-e-dog
Original Author
10 years ago
Corrected: My seed packet is from Territorial Seed.

Updating my post, most of my Kentucky Blue are petering out and the Monte Cristo just keep on producing. Fully 90% of today's harvest came off the Monte Cristo. And I realize that I've been picking them too early. They do get bigger than those in the picture and are still good, tender, and stringless. Note: I've corrected the spelling - it's monte with and "e". Sorry for the spelling error.

This post was edited by spot-e-dog on Fri, Aug 16, 13 at 23:35
drloyd
10 years ago
Thank you SED, Charlie and Galena for the information. I saw it in the Territorial catalog but did not pay much attention. I have added it to the 2014 list. - Dick