Fortex didn't seem particularly low yielding when I grew it last year. Are you comparing it with other pole beans or with bush beans? I ask because the yield of pole beans is spread out uniformly, while bush beans bear in a concentrated, shorter flush.

Jim

maybe that's it! i'm also growing the 'provider' bean which is a bush type, and we've eaten many more of those beans. how many plants would i need for a family of 5? fwiw, i'm also growing sugar snap pea, and i've gotten several meals out of maybe 12 plants which is perfect for us.

A good plan is to have some bush beans for a quick, early crop. Provider sounds like a good one, though I have yet to grow it. My bush bean this year is Tender Pod, recommended by another GWer.

Then grow pole beans, such as Fortex, for the long haul. I like Fortex a lot. But there are so many pole beans and so little time. It's fun to explore.

Jim

I am astonished at the number of gardeners having problems with "Fortex" this year. It is my favorite bean - bush or pole - due to its good cool-soil germination, disease resistance, and great flavor. I have always considered it to be the closest thing to fool-proof pole bean.

When I first trialed "Fortex", my first impression was also that it was low yielding, compared to other beans I was growing at the time. The vines were somewhat spindly, and did not branch as heavily as, say, "Kentucky Wonder". The flower spikes were smaller & held fewer flowers; nor did the whole plant break into bloom, like other pole beans I had grown.

But then, there is the size of the beans. At 10-11" long, you don't need to pick as many to get a meal's worth. The yield is also sustained over a longer period, so while you might pick less per day, the overall harvest is still quite large.

Because of the very open foliage & disease resistance, you can plant them a lot closer than most pole beans, which helps to increase the yield per row foot. Because my soil crusts over, I use the "hill" method to help the seeds break through; 4-5 seeds every 12", then thin to the best 2 per hill. Last year, during the peak harvest period, I was picking two 5-gallon pails every 2-3 days, from 60 feet of row.

"Fortex" is ideally suited to a kitchen garden, where continuous production is desirable. It has excellent flavor raw, fresh cooked, or frozen... but if canning in large batches is the goal, then other varieties (such as bush beans, or "Kentucky Wonder" pole) might be more appropriate.

I was just discussing this topic on another thread, where others had also mentioned poor yield from pole beans in general, and "Fortex" in particular. Mulching pole beans is a practice that I can't recommend highly enough. Beans need consistent soil moisture for the best blossom set, and since the growth of pole beans is mostly vertical, they don't protect their own root system too well.

It makes a difference when the mulch is applied. Too early, and it will provide shelter for slugs & insects which will damage the emerging seedlings. The best time is after the first true leaf has appeared. I generally use marsh hay or alfalfa, and then spray the plants clean afterward. The response of the plants to this treatment can be remarkable; within a few days, the plants really take off. The mulch helps to prevent mud splash, and beans really hate soil on their leaves.

"Fortex" has one other weakness; wind bruising. This will express itself as curled/deformed pods, with hard brown bruises. If the trellis is in an exposed location, and wind is frequent, the losses can be severe. Under such circumstances, if a sheltered location is not available, I would recommend bush beans instead.

The last thing I would mention is nitrogen. For some reason, pole beans seem to be more sensitive to excess nitrogen than bush beans. With excess N, they produce lush foliage, but few beans. This can happen if the entire garden is fertilized prior to planting. Only when the excess N has been consumed will the vines begin to bear heavily... I say this from experience.

i think the problem may be excesss nitrogen - the plot had manure mixed in because i planted beans next to the butternut squash! oh well, i'll know better for next year.

I've made exactly the same mistake. The good news is, manure breaks down. I had a good local source of composted manure in the 80's, and laid a 3-4" layer over the entire garden before tilling. It was one of the best gardens I ever had, but the pole beans (limas, snaps, and yardlongs) were late to bear. The vines had beautiful, lush foliage, but very few beans. Late in the season, however, presumably after the nitrogen was exhausted, they bore heavily. Hopefully you will have the same results.

We love the fortex and the kids can pick out which ones are the fortex and which are not by taste even when they're all in one dish together. My yields are prolonged, but very, very low. Granted, I only have about 6sqft of trellis space for them, but I can't seem to get a single full dish out of them. I have to mix them with other beans, but they're completely worth it.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Corner Yard

"...Granted, I only have about 6sqft of trellis space for them..."

??? Is that one plant on a 6-foot trellis? ;-)

No, most certainly not. Lord that would make for a small harvest. HA! I do a combination of traditional raised and SFG so that's 6sqft of planting by those methods. around 6-8 plants a sqft for 6 sq ft. I'm building a whole new box for them for next year.

I am growing these for the first time this year, and they are just now getting buds on them (to be expected), but these plants have ROCKETED up my 7' trellis, and are grasping at air, trying to climb higher. I am impressed with their vigor. Can't wait to have them on my plate, though! Zeedman, you were the one who convinced me to try the Fortex instead of the Emerites, and I must say, I am really impressed with their growth (not nearly as fussy as the Emerites were, IMO).

You guys suggested planting bush beans for faster flushes of beans, which is something I do every year. However, THIS year, my green & gold bush bean from Gurney's are actually POLING!!!! I have one "bush bean" that is 4' up my cucumber trellis, has hijacked it, and is winning the fight with the cucmber. How funny is that?

"Zeedman, you were the one who convinced me to try the Fortex instead of the Emerites..."

The funny part is, I'm growing "Emerite" this year in place of "Fortex". Go figure. ;-)

Ideally, I grow "Fortex", "Emerite", and "Kentucky Wonder White #191" in rotation; each takes a turn as my main-crop snap. But I haven't grown it for a few years, so I needed to grow it this year to replenish my seed stock.

"Emerite" actually has the best frozen quality of the three, but I bumped it out of the rotation for awhile because I wasn't happy with the yield - "Fortex" is far more dependable, and "KWW #191" will outyield it 2-to-1. I am experimenting with the spacing of "Emerite" this year, to see if I can improve the yield. So far the plants look very healthy, so I am optimistic.

ribbit

Do you plant on both sides of the trellis? That doubles the number of plants and increases your harvest. For root-room, you need to plant them slightly farther apart and roughly stagger them.

My Fortex beans aren't terribly productive this year either, being far outproduced by the KW pole wax beans I planted, but since I've never grown them before, I haven't known what to expect. I won't grow the wax beans again since they don't have much beany flavor, but I will plant Fortex again, probably double the amount.

Additionally, the Fortex and wax beans may not last much longer -- they're looking pretty sickly with yellowing leaves at the bottom gradually moving up the plants, though they're still putting out beans. I can't help but think that the incredibly rainy cool weather this Spring set them up for disease.

I am growing Smeraldo roma pole beans as well, planted later and in a different spot, and they are *very* productive. The pole limas have just begun producing blossoms, so I'm hopeful they'll continue without disease problems.