yes

For most of the varieties available, some form of vertical support is necessary. Some are very strong climbers, to 8-10 feet. They tend to prefer natural materials, such as wood or twine; but they will also climb _rusted_ metal fencing (or construction remesh).

A few varieties are "bush", but they would usually indicate that as part of their name.

My grandmother and now I have been growing these beans for a long time. She got her seed from a Chinese expatriate in the 1980's and they have grown on the same section of rusty fence in our veggie garden ever since. This year I planted corn outside the fence as an experiment to see it it helped the beans grow up . . . but the corn variety is too short to be useful (lush though from all the water and nitrogen in the soil) I'll have to try something different next year. I've still got bloody butcher corn seeds from last year's harvest.

N.B.C., are the yardlongs you refer to actually from China, or was the seed originally obtained here? What are the colors of the pods & seeds?

If your beans are from China, I am a collector of yardlong beans, and would be very interested in a trade. I have much to choose from in exchange, including other yardlong varieties & seed from over 200 other vegetables. Contact me via my member page if you might be interested.

The seeds very likely came from China or else from a Chinese source in this country. Alas, Mr. Su died a long time ago so it would be hard to prove their exact provenance, but I don't think he brought them himself. He was basically left exiled while a student in the U.S. when the Nationalist Chinese fled the mainland.

The pods are a medium to dark green and the seeds are small and brown. I'd always thought there was just the one kind of longbeans and never looked for other varieties. These do get about 2-3 feet long if allowed to fully mature, but they are best at about 12 inches.

Wow what a neat trade....just think nightbloomer, you could be responsible for a new find in zeedman's collection...How cool is that?

All of these apparently originated in the Orient, probably in China and surrounding countries. The "Yardlong Bean" which has been grown in the USA since the late 1800's probalbly came with the Chinese laborers imported to build canals , railroads etc. I know of 45 named cultivars today, most coming from Asian seed companies.

Yardlongs, like many other legumes, can be fun to experiment with - especially because so few are involved with them. As is the case with so many vegetables, there is far more variation out there than the very limited choices available commercially as produce. In light of this, it is not surprising that some would think that there is only one variety... just as some non-gardeners think that "Blue Lake" is the only green bean, because that is all they see in the produce section.

There are quite a few yardlong cultivars available from seed companies in the U.S., and many more in cultivation throughout Asia. Here, Evergreen Y. H., Kitazawa, & Baker Creek carry a good selection. The pods can vary from light green, to dark green, to purple; the seeds can be red, brown, white, black, or some combination.

Unfortunately, not all yardlongs will do well in my Northern location. Some are daylength-sensitive, and will not bloom until September; others just require a longer season or more heat than my climate can provide. The black-seeded cultivars seem to be more tolerant of cool weather. But for those in the hot, humid South, most of them will prosper.

This year, I am trialing three varieties from the Philippines (seeds brown or brown & white), and one from Malaysia (white-seeded). One of the Filipino varieties is supposed to be "bush"... to what extent remains to be seen. The Malaysian variety is very long-podded, so I hope it proves to be adaptable. If any of these fail to ripen seed here, I will offer the remaining seed to serious seed savers in warmer climes.

zeedman...am I right that the two that you would recommend would be Liana or Red Noodle...I want to grow some and have done a search and seems as though I recall (actually have it saved) .........maybe I am not remembering who actually said that but I am thinking it was you...so Liana or Red Noodle would be varieties you would recommend?

Yes, Ruthie, those are the two commercial varieties that I would recommend.

"Liana" (a black-seeded cultivar) is the earliest, bears heavily, and tolerates cool weather better than most. Pods are medium green, and are best when harvested at around 18" in length (less than pencil thick). The table quality is good, with the real "asparagus bean" flavor when lightly cooked (stir frying is best). It is the most reliable variety for the North, or perhaps for a Fall planting in the South. There are many sources... it is pretty much the standard, with good reason.

I first saw "Chinese Red Noodle" offered by Baker Creek, but it has since gained in popularity & is now offered by several others as well. It is slower-growing than many, and not the best climber; it requires a considerable amount of training to get the vines started. It also requires - and tolerates - more heat... bad for those of us in the North, but good for those in the warmer Southern climes.

In addition to "Red Noodle's" reluctance to climb, it matures fairly late, has some of the shortest pods (around 12" at prime), and is not the highest yielder... so why do I recommend it? Because the table quality is _outstanding_. It has a firmer texture when cooked, a slightly sweet nutty flavor, and a beautiful purple color. Unlike purple snap beans, the color does not disappear when cooked... the beans may turn bluish, but a touch of vinegar added to the kettle (or the dish) will restore them to a deep purplish-red. In soups (with a small amount of vinegar added) it produces a deep wine-red broth. The beans also freeze well.

Zeedman
I have some long bean seeds from China(2004). They are black seeds. I will send you some if you like to try them.

Luong, thank you for your kind offer. Yes, I am interested in your beans, and would like to try them next year. Please contact me via my Member Page to work out the arrangements, and review my Exchange List for anything you might wish in trade.

Luong, your seeds arrived yesterday - thank you! I look forward to growing them next year.

Nightbloomincereus, I tried to contact you via your member page regarding a trade, with no success. Your reply could have been cut out by my spam filter, as I have caught several in the "delete" folder lately. I'll try again through your email... but if you read this first, let me know if you might be interested.

This has been an odd year for me... my yardlongs just sat there for much of July, and are only now beginning to climb. They are probably 3-4 weeks behind where they should be. Has anyone else experienced a similar problem?

Yes, Zeedman, my yardlongs (Daw Gauk and Redseeded) germinated very poorly, and took forever to grow, but now am getting good beans on one variety and almost none on the other. I dont know why. Maybe because they are second in the row facing west, which gets the hottest sun. First in the row facing west are Tobacco Worm, Ma Williams and Garafel Oros, and some Limas, and they are also taking forever to produce. Maybe its too hot for them, though there is mulch on every surface, both paths and beds, and we have had good rains. The varieties in the cooler more easterly rows have been loading up nicely with big beans for weeks now while Ma Williams is only just beginning to produce skinny 3 inch beans.

Just an update... the beans mentioned above (or most of them) suddenly took off like a shot. The night temperatures had gone up, which I believe caused the growth spurt.

As I mentioned above, I have been trying three yardlongs from the Philippines, one from Malaysia. The Malaysian variety, "Long White Snake", appears to be either very long season, or daylength sensitive - while the vines are rampant, it has yet to bloom. The foliage is lush, so it might be good for those who cook the leaves... if it gets no pods before frost, I may try it.

The Philippine yardlongs (and several other Philippine vegetables also trialed this year) have succeeded far beyond my expectations.

"Galante" is a strong climber, with very straight, medium-green pods with a somewhat rough exterior. They grow up to 24" long in harvestable stage, and develop seeds very slowly, so they remain tender for a fairly long period. When cooked, they stay firm, and are slightly sweet.

"Sierra Madre" does not climb as strongly, more of a half-runner habit. Its crop is borne mainly close to the ground... but the beans are full-sized, 20-24". They are dark green, wrinkled, and grow very large (as wide as snap beans) while remaining tender. When cooked, they shrink somewhat, and resemble snap beans in both flavor & texture. For those in the deep South where snap beans struggle, and those who don't like the flavor of most yardlongs, this could be a good alternative.

I cooked both of them using the same recipe, with pork, onions, garlic, and soy sauce. Surprisingly, "Sierra Madre" developed a dark, flavorful broth as it cooked down.

The last variety couldn't exactly be called "yardlong"; the pods are only 7-8" long at prime stage. "Bush Sitao Var. BS-3" has pods are medium-green, with a somewhat rough exterior that closely resembles "Galante". I had wondered if it would turn out to be a true bush... the photo tells all.

Haven't tried this cooked yet... but raw, the pods are extremely crunchy, with a mildly sweet flavor. I am mostly letting the pods grow for seed (other than some taste testing) but the plant's habit seems to indicate a very high yield potential if kept picked.

{{gwi:57747}}
Sierra Madre (left) vs. Galante (right) taste test (w/bitter melon, egg & tomato in background)

Hey, who said testing had to be dull? ;-)

Those beans look fabulous...Are the beans in that picture stirfried...or just simmered till tender in a little liquid.

Zeedman,
I just saw your note. I haven't got anything from you via e-mail. I have been harvesting fresh seeds for a while now. Since my brothers, mom and dad all have different schedules most of the produce I have harvested from the garden is going straight to the freezer. :-( And since I am also busy I have plenty of yardlong seeds both old and new to offer.

Wonderful pictures! Just found them today while following postings about these beans.

I also like your choice to show them in cooked dishes. If people knew how good these beans tasted, that would surely make them one of the most popular vegetables in the Western world as well.

Please tell me what link I'm missing to be able to post my pictures in my text instead of putting them in Garden Gallery and making necessary a click-trip to view them.

If it requires access to my computer via internet, it will be a problem, as my ISP is not very reliable, and my service is often down for many hours at a time.

Jan in Arkansas Ozarks

No. Your own computer doesn't need to be the server for your photos.

Open an account on a free image hosting site such as Photobucket.com. Follow their instructions for storing your images on that site.

Photobucket will give each image an HTML tag which will appear beneath the image. Copy that tag and paste it into your Garden Web post where you want the image to appear. That's it!

Jim