Hey Command, I didn't respond to this for some time because I'm just not sure what to say. I bet that's how it's been with the others as well. There are plenty of other good varieties to try. For starters why not look at Sandhill Preservation Center? I'd feel pretty secure following their recommendations.

Having said that, I ask, did the bush beans produce in the very same place and under the same conditions? Did something change besides just the bean variety?

The plants getting "swollen" and "woody" might be the normal process of growth and aging. But the fact that the blooms abort makes me want to think they're getting way too much heat. Might they be growing on the southern exposure of a highly reflective wall?

George
Tahlequah, OK

Like George, I don't really have any ideas about your problem. However, I am also in a hot climate and pole beans are many times more problamatic than bush beans. They take longer and sometimes get caught by the heat. They also seem more susceptible to soil borne diseases. The ones that do the best for me are string types like Lazy Wife, Mc Casland and Rattlesnake, so that will not help you at all.

Ask your county extension agent. It may be a local disease. You should be able to grow good beans in your area. Maybe try innoculant or fertilizer or compost mulch or tilling before planting.

Thanks to all for responding. To try and answer some questions: The bush beans produced about half the usual crop 16 ft from pole beans. They also got the swollen woody vine problem. Not normal growth as we have never seen anything like this in 40 yrs of gardening. The extension office took samples and said they'd get back to me. Still waiting. No walls, in the wide open. It does sort of corelate to the onset of Jap Beetles and doses of sevin spray. We have used sevin dust for many years but only switched to the spray last few years when the beetles invaded.

Before hurricane Katrina, I always harvested more from my pole beans than I did from my bush beans. My pole beans produced over such a long season thereby, being exposed to more pathogens. They produced right up to the hottest part of summer. Rarely, did I encounter problems early in the season.

Before blossom-set, my beans benefit greatly if I apply a fertilizer with high nitrogen content. If applied after flowers appear, that same fertilizer will cause blossom-drop every time.

My beans would also drop flowers if the soil was too wet.

This will be my first real garden since Katrina. I'm really fired-up for this gardening season!