You know you are having a good crop of pole beans when you need to get out the step ladder to harvest. I have recently fallen in love with pole beans, and I'll tell you why. Firstly, they are prolific as this picture attests; and with a tall trellis, one can get quite a yield from just a few square feet of garden space.
Secondly, they are a legume, and you should know by now that legumes are good for your soil, in that they fixate nitrogen from the atmosphere,and deposit it in the rootzone. When picked young, they are sweet and delectable. I like the classic Blue Lake strain, but there are many good ones, and I also grow a strain bred Charles Ledgerwood, known for years as "The Seed Man of Carlsbad"
Which brings us to the last point, and that is that it is very easy to save the seeds from season to season by just letting a few bean pods mature and dry out right on the vine. Once the husk has yellowed and the seeds rattle a bit, they are easy to pop out and into a jar or ziplock for the next planting season. And here in Southern California, that is nearly year round, certainly from early spring to mid summer at least.
The simple trellis for these beans was made from a 4x8 piece of concrete reinforcing mesh, less that $10 at the local Home Depot, zip tied to some 2x2 poles salvaged from the landscaping of some new construction nearby. Viola! a tall, sturdy trellis that can be disassembled and moved at a moments notice. We also use the concrete reinforcing wire screens for tomato cages. This product is very useful in the garden, and lasts for years.
So I encourage all you nascent gardeners out there to get your trellis together and get your pole beans on! You won't be sorry. Just be sure to harvest when they are young and tender, and remember to leave a few pods to mature to provide the seeds for next season.
I wish you all a bountiful garden and life.
Now get out there and grow something.
Peace,
Swami bruce
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