I would grow Musica instead because it is a highly productive roma type pole bean. Jeminez is not technically a roma though it is a good bean with robust flavor.

you can find them at http://www.reneesgarden.com/

DarJones

Jimenez is very productive. It makes a really large seed, which I bet would be great for cooking. But I didn't personally like it as a snap. Many people do, and I hope one of them shows up to represent this bean. But I find that it is a bit "mealy" as a snap.

George
Tahlequah, OK

I grew it this year and liked it as a snap. It grew really well and I got lots of beans. I've also grown Romano Pole before and that is one heck of a producer.
Remy

Mcleod

I grew Jimenez last season and I love the flavor used as a snap or later , it was very productive in my garden.

And I also grew Musica and was very productive and flavorful in my zone 9b in Florida.

Thank you to the experts for recommending these varieties, I am glad that I was listening. :o)

Silvia

Musica seemed to be a rather delicate seed and didn't come up well for me. I have grown Jeminez for many years and it was my favorite. It has a very large succulent pod that stays tender in large sizes. But it is slow to get started and can be kind of limp after cooking. I'm shifting to Uncle Steve's and Super Marconi, which is rather a romano type.

But I live in the PNW where summers are cool and I had much higher yields and better eating this last year growing runner beans, as long as I picked them young enough not to get fibrous. I'm growing different ones next summer that get longer and are stringless, from Thompson and Morgan. They weren't bothered by the voles that ate a lot of my regular pole bean seeds before they could germinate, perhaps because beans had not been grown before where I planted them, though voles were present there.

I like Smeraldo Pole bean, the only thing I buy from Park Seeds, though I'd be happy to switch since their prices and shipping are ridiculously high.

Thing is that Romanos ARE OP, so you can save seeds for the next year and not buy any more.

Anney, can't you save seed from the Smeraldo? What about buying it somewhere else like Seeds From Italy?

Here is a link that might be useful: Smeraldo

I can vouch for Seeds from Italy, the service is excellent, my order came in short order. The seed count in the packs is overly generous, I will definitely order from them again.

Annette

happyday

Yes, I saved the Smeraldo italian beans to use next spring, so I'm okay. But it's good to know about Seeds of Italy in case the seeds are a complete failure at any time.