I grew stringless "Blue Lake" last summer and was very happy. They were Ferry Morse seeds that I bought - I believe - at Home Depot. I only ate them fresh, I didn't try for dried. They had a great "beany" taste and were pretty prolific. I had one tent (3 plants, I think) and we (2) were eating beans every night for about two weeks...

I'm on the Mendocino coast of California, where summers are cool (typical highs mid-60s) and Blue Lake did not do well here. Kentucky Wonder did slightly better. Royal Burgundy and Dragon's Tongue both performed extremely well, but they are both bush-type (so kind of a pain to pick; not so bad in my 12" tall raised beds though). Dragon's Tongue in particular was extremely good eating - far better flavor than any green bean.

I'd really like to hear of any other snap beans, especially pole types, that do well in cool summers. I'm considering several from the Gourmet Seed Intnl catalog: Blauhilde, Triomphe de Farcy, maybe some of the Romanos. Anybody know anything about those? Will they germinate/grow in cooler summers?