Fortex is great. It does well in the heat and is prolific, although the production is spread out so it may not seem like you're getting as much all at once. Although, if you've got 40' rows, that may be a blessing! Now, when I say they did well in the heat, I mean relative to other common green beans. Production did slow down and then ceased when it got really hot.

If you have any plans to grow corn, Genuine Cornfield beans are good to grow up the stalks. You get double the crops in the same amount of space. I've heard that they can be tough, but the ones I grew last season were nutty tasting and tender even when the beans started to fill the pods. They do need to be de-stringed a bit when they get bigger, though.

I grew Jumbo from Johnny Seeds this year. Even in my very limited space I got a lot of beans. They're a huge Romano-type bean, well-flavored, and tender.

If I understand your post, you are planning to grow only snap beans (ones which you eat the pods). I would like to persuade you to devote half a row, or maybe a whole row, to shellies (you eat the mature green seeds). Shellies are a whole different experience. They can be used fresh or frozen.

I've just cooked a mess of shellies and look forward to eating them now.

Jim

Jim,
I would grow some shellies if I could get the kids to eat them. They love snap type beans. Is there any specific yellow bean that I should get?

I would give Bill Best at Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Center a call. When it comes to beans, he's a good source of information. I love all types of beans, but to be honest, I haven't grown the yellow ones. I left you a link to the bean page.

Here is a link that might be useful: Heirloom Beans

If it were me, I'd put Rattlesnakes on the fence.....I loved my rattlesnakes and cannot forsee ever having a garden again without them....but...I'm trying a few new ones suggested to me this coming year and might just have new favorites...I had a long season and enormous production from the snakes.,,,I had to pick every day...

Virginia is pretty much bean heaven, You can grow just about any cultivar of P. vulgaris known to man. I grew up in the central Piedmont (Charlottesville area) lived in the Northern Neck ( great gardening country) and in the New River Valley. All types of common beans did well, which is not not true in the Georgia heat. That said, The two types of pole beans that became my favorites were the Kentucky Wonder and the Romano. They are different types but equally good in their own right. All the others mentioned grow well there. Rattlesnake does better here in the heat. Missouri Wonder takes heat and drought a bit better. Shellie beans ( called October beans in Virginia) were very popular in Virginia, Most popular cultivars were the Mammoth Horticultural (pole) and Taylor Strain, Dwarf Horticultural ( bush). Since moving to Georgia I have discovered that I like crowder peas much better than green shelly beans so I don't grow them anymore. You can get the wax beans in either pole or bush forms. Cherokee Wax, Golden Crop, Golden Wax get good reviews. Pole, Goldmarie

Thanks Farmerdilla. I had terrible luck with beans this year but I didn't plant that many. Also I didn't get a soil test. I'm guessing after the results come back I'll be adding alot of lime to the soil. I added a lot of composted manure in the spring (about 2 weeks before planting)but I didn't adjust the ph. My bad for not taking the time. Some of the garden did very well (squash and cucumbers were great) but beans and tomatos stayed really small and stunted and barely produced. How sensitive are beans to PH? Is there anything beyond a good soil test that I should do?

Beans are very senstive to pH, but a soil test is always a good idea, because a lot of veggies are sensitive. They do like high Phosphate, but otherwise are not demanding fertility wise. If your squash and cukes ( much more demanding plants did well) I would suspect a disease organism in the soil.The sandy soils of the tidewater area do have some including nematodes and I did have some problems with Rhizoctonia and Pythium in the NRV.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bean Diseases

For beans, peas, okra, corn and such I like to grow two rows side by side, therefore I recommend you grow two half rows of yellow and two half rows of green beans. I've never grown yellow beans beans but my favorite bush green bean is RomanoII. It is more prolific than other varieties I've tried and has a flavor more like pole beans.
I've tried Rattlesnake, Blue Lake, and Kentucky Wonder beans and found Ky W. to be better than the others though they are all very good. This year I tried Fortex and found it to be as delicious and as prolific as Ky.W. and it matures a little sooner. I planted both on the same day.
I agree with jimster, you should definately try shellies. My favorite is Dwarf Horticulture or French Horticulture.
I love for my green beans to have a few that are too tough to snap and shell them in the same pot.

"Since moving to Georgia I have discovered that I like crowder peas much better than green shelly beans..."

I'll go along with that, Farmerdilla. Pink Eye Purple Hulls have earned a place on my must grow list. They are a beautiful looking, tasty cow pea. Last night I combined them with White Willow Leaf limas, since I didn't have many of either one, and the result was very good. Thinking about it makes me salivate.

Jim

Welll...based on the input I think I'm going with
Pole: Fortex and Rattlesnake
Bush: Provider and Indy Gold

I have read that pole beans are uncomfortable to raccoon's paws and they won't tear down stalks that have pole beans growing on them. Does anyone know if this is true? I went to great lengths this year to keep coons out of my corn but was successful. Of course the Indians probably knew a lot more than given credit for.

My nephew and niece love beans but they do not like the Romas which have somewhat of a stronger flavor. They like the canned blue lake.

I've never had coon go after my beans. That's more like what a groundhog would do. Congratulations on keeping those coon out of your corn this year. That's a real feat!

George
Tahlequah, OK

I don't know about raccoons, but pole bean vines stick to my hands (and shirt, and hair, etc) like they're covered with tiny velcro. All the better to climb poles! So it wouldn't surprise me if critters weren't crazy about the feel of the stems. Squirrels haven't bothered my pole beans at all, although that may have more to do with my dogs.