Veggiecanner, I also grew the "Trionfo Violetto" last summer... it did only OK for me, but that may have been due to its cultivation in new ground (former lawn). The vines for me were more sparse than I am accustomed to from a pole bean, and the yield only fair. I will try it again in an established plot to get a second opinion.

I grew "Rattlesnake" several years ago, during an especially cool, wet summer in Wisconsin. It didn't do well, got hit by rust pretty hard (although it recovered somewhat when conditions became drier). The flavor was very good, and the quality of the pods (few though they were) was better than most of the others grown that year. Only "Fortex" & "Garafal Oro", which are strongly rust-resistant, did better. To put things in perspective, 3 of 8 varieties failed completely that year due to rust; "Rattlesnake" at least showed some resistance, and continued to bear.

While it is widely grown, based on my own experience (and from the comments of several Southern GW posters in past threads) its greatest strength seems to be its productivity in warmer climates.

To be fair... the year I grew "Rattlesnake" was a _very_ bad year here for beans, and I never grew it again. It may have been the excessive rainfall (and the rust which followed it) which was primarily responsible for the poor performance in my trial. If memory serves me correctly, summers in much of Idaho are fairly dry... if that is the case for your area, you might have better luck.

I guess that's 1/2 vote "for" & 1/2 vote "against"... sorry I couldn't be more definitive. ;-)

we are lucky enough not to get rust here. Our pole beans had some trouble setting pods this year due to the dry season but made up for it when fall rains hit.

New member here, this is my 1st post. I have been lurking for a few years and this post brought me out of hiding and hopefully I have a little something to add to the topic at hand

I have been growing Rattlesnake pole beans for 3 yrs. now. They have always done well for me here. Last year I harvested just over 8lbs of beans from a 6 1/2 foot row planted 4" apart on an A-frame trellis. I planted the 3rd week of May and my 1st harvest of 1 3/4 lbs was the 3rd week of July. So about 60 some days or so for me. My experience has been they produce well for 2 or 3 weeks then go thru a dormant phase during the hottest part of August. Then will reblossom and set pods till frost.

Last spring I gave some seed to 3 friends they all say it will be a repeat for the 2007 season. My father in zone 4 has also had good luck with these (last year being an exception he had a bad drought and his garden as a whole did poorly)

Last season was my 1st time growing Fortex and they are also an excellent bean. Not as tall as the snakes 5' vs 8' Nor quite as productive. Both beans have excellent flavor.

Veggiecanner,
I have an extra ounce or 2 of saved Rattlesnake seed I would be willing to part with for free or trade for. Send me an e-mail if interested.

Sorry but I have no experience with "Purple Podded Pole"

I am a newbie idiot. After I posted I realized that my e-mail was blocked. I don't know how I missed it in the sign up area. But after some hair pulling and gnashing of teeth in the test forum area I think I got it fixed.

Veggie,

You are barking up the wrong tree. There are a couple of good flavored and productive purple pole beans. Most are not commercially available. Louisiana Purple is available from Southern Exposure, but flavor is not too exceptional.

I have a family heirloom purple pole bean that my Grandmother passed down to me. It has been the best producer and has good flavor compared to about 20 other purple varieties I've grown. If you are interested, send me an email and I'll mail you a pack for the cost of shipping.

As an interesting aside, there are a few purple pod varieties in which the color is so intense that the pods are almost black. I have snapped some of these intense purple beans into a pan of water and the water turns deep purple and can be used as a dye.

Fusion

Thank you for the offer but I am not sure a bean meant for the south would be OK for North Idaho zone 4/5.

Lol Veggie, I didn't suggest them because they just do well down here in the south. They are early and productive in the north as well. They tolerate dry conditions and germinate better in cool soil than most beans. They have done well in all climates except extremely cool and wet and the only reason I exclude that is because I don't know of them being grown under those conditions yet.

No, they are not perfect. I'm working on a cross between Fortex and Grandma's Purple that will take at least 3 more years to stabilize. I hope to get a purple bean that retains some of the disease tolerance and eating quality of Fortex but picks up the good traits of the purple variety too.

Fusion

Grandma's Purple Pole Bean is my earliest pole bean. It has very good flavor and a regular round shape. It also will start bearing again in the fall instead of just quitting like a lot of pole beans. (Thanks, Fusion!)

I got some Granny's Purple Pod beans from tormato (Gary) this last year. Is this the same variety that is being discussed here? Just curious.

~Sam

Trionfo Violetto has the lowest production, and Rattlesnake has the highest production, of all the pole varieties I've ever trialed, if counting by number of pods.

By volume, Trionfo is still the lowest, and Jeminez out-produces Rattlesnake.

Gary

I ONLY HAVE A 20' FENCE TO GROW RATTLESNAKES ON...UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS, WILL THAT BE LONG ENOUGH OF A PLANTING TO SERVE MY WIFE & MYSELF.
THATS ABOUT 50 BEANS IN THE GROUND AT 6" APART.
PLEASE SOMEONE?? HELP GOTTA GETTEM' IN THRE GROUND TOMORROW OR WEDNESDAY 6-3-09
RALPH

I ONLY HAVE A 20' FENCE TO GROW RATTLESNAKES ON...UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS, WILL THAT BE LONG ENOUGH OF A PLANTING TO SERVE MY WIFE & MYSELF.
THATS ABOUT 50 BEANS IN THE GROUND AT 6" APART.
PLEASE SOMEONE?? HELP GOTTA GETTEM' IN THRE GROUND TOMORROW OR WEDNESDAY 6-3-09
RALPH

All caps are hard to read and are considered to be shouting at people!

That said, it isn't clear what you need help with.

anney...... i don't know how I can ask my question any clearer!, as for the large type......i don't know how it is harder to read...Seems clear to me.
as for shouting, its not my nature .
ralph

Many people won't read all cap posts because the mind has to slow down and carefully explore every word. It results in annoyance. Do us a favor and just don't post with all caps, okay? You're more likely to get an answer.

Now, what is the question?

rcn10ac

I apologize, your question is whether a 20-foot row of rattlesnake pole beans (or 40 plants at 6" spacing) will be enough to feed two people.

This site (PDF) recommends 5-7 plants per person for pole beans.

5-7 plants for two people!?!?!?!? oooops......I think I might have over-planted pole beans! There is two of us eating and we must have about 100 pole bean plants on the ground, and that is not counting the limas and not counting the red scarlet runners. I still have the rattlesnakes to plant too!

cabrita

I suspect that figure is only for fresh eating, not if someone plans to freeze or can them for year-round use. But it's true that pole beans are usually very productive over a good period of time! Last year I planted 16 feet of pole Romas and 16 feet of Kentucky Wonder poles, and we 2 of us) ate them until they ran out our ears and I froze enough to last through the winter. We've just used the last of them.

Let's just say if they're productive, you're gonna' have a lot of beans!

So will I! 16 feet of pole limas, 16 feet of Fortex, 16 feet of pole wax beans, 16 feet of romas, and about 30 feet of Purple Hull cow peas! But you've got me beat. I'm not planting any more!

So funny, I forgot I also planted purple hull southern peas and the yard long Asian type noodle like pole beans.....and I still want to plant the rattlesnakes, and some soy beans too. But really, can one have too many beans? (wrong forum for this question....)

I have 6 rows of beans across the garden. Each row is about 110 feet long.

1 row of Tobacco Worm
1 row of Blue Marbutt
1 row of Lima beans (1/2 Old time pink & white, 1/2 Herndon)
1 row of Insuk's Wang Kong scarlet runner beans
1 row of Uncle Walt's Cranberry beans
1 row of about 12 different varieties with 10 to 20 feet per.

The row of different varieties will give me enough beans to trial several that I am interested in or that I have grown before and need fresh seed.

I am growing the beans in part for myself to eat and can and in part to save seed for Sandhill Preservation.

To answer the urgent question posted above, 20 feet of beans is enough to comfortably feed 2 people and have enough beans to can about 20 to 25 quarts. Rattlesnake is very productive here in the south. It is not my favorite bean for flavor. That is not a serious negative, Rattlesnake has decent flavor, it is just middle of the pack.

DarJones

I agree about Rattlesnake.

Its vigor and productiveness are wonderful but the quality of the beans themselves is inferior to many other commonly grown varieties.