Never grown Empress, it is an old Gurney introduction, that was renamed Empress in 1979. Probably a reason it was discontinued, but probably an ok bean for the home garden. There has been almost a dozen cultivars over the years advertised as "bush" Kentucky Wonder. Have grown about 6 of them, none have much resemblance to the pole Kentucky Wonder. Some are fairly good, others are way down on the scale.

Since it is being called an heirloom anyone know how long this bean has been around?

I am planning on growing them myself this season, and anything has to be better then my contender beans were last year.

Dean

Accordin to Seed Savers Exchange, it was introduced as Gurney's Experimental 121 and marketed as Empress in 1979. Therfore 1979 would be a reasonable date for its introduction to the public. Probably trial packets sent out a few years (maybe two) before that. Contender was released in 1950.

I grew the beans when Gurney's introduced them. I had the in a side by side trial of 6 other varieties, and could tell the taste difference between some of them. The "Experimental 121" as it was called then, was the most tender, and juiciest (if you could say beans are juicy)of all the bush beans. After a few years Gurney's no longer carried them, I even called them and asked about it. and I searched for many years until they showed up again in Seed Savers Exchange as the renamed "Empress" bean. I have been bringing more heirloom varieties back into my garden, just because many heirlooms across the board, have better flavors than new hybrids, but maybe not as rugged of plants.

I have grown them for two seasons now and they will always be a staple in my garden, because they are prolific, stringless, tender, and good tasting, basically just an all around good bush bean.

Dean

The instructions say plant 2" apart but not clear on how to space them once they're up. All of ours came up quite vigorously, how much space should we thin them out to?