Nice looking plate of beans, I'm also growing them for the first time this year, had the seed for awhile so thought I'd better get it in the ground. Planted late mine are just flowering now.

Annette

It didn't seem to take much time between first flowering and nice size beans--despite the onslaught of Japanese Beetles.

I do not know how you can tell that it is one week earlier than the other. You can certainly plant them a little sooner or later.

I planted Dragon Tongue bean this year and they looks very similar. I think the purple color is a little prettier.

But it is bush bean...

I bought Dragon Tongue from a farm market last year, and they were tasty. The purple was on a yellowish background

Here's how I can tell Rattlesnake was a week or so earlier than my Kentucky Wonders. It's very simple. I planted them both at the same time, on the same support. I've been eating Rattlesnakes for about a week, and my KWs are now almost ready to pick.

For me, I do not notice all the timing. I plant several types of pole and bush beans, all under very different conditions, like seed starting, soil condition and watering. So I hardly compare them. They are just like babies from different families....

I believe rattlesnake beans are pole beans...

Yes, they are. I grow some bush varieties to get a head start on the season, but much prefer pole beans.

My Rattlesnake pole beans are pretty much a bust this year. A doe with twin fawns started snacking on the leaves fairly early on in the season. Now I have only vines for the first 6 feet up the trellis and then some leaves and beans above that. Funny thing is they did not touch the bush beans in a raised bed about 10 yards away.

I have a similar situation with one of my two bean arches, the one that isn't fenced. I'm pretty good about keeping deer candy sprayed with Liquid Fence, but I stop when beans are about to form. That was all the encouragement the deer needed. The Rattlesnakes were the easiest for them to get to, and they're a mess. I'm hoping some will recover and start flowering again.

You don't have to understand, RedSun, but I'll try to explain anyway. In addition to a bean arch inside one of my fenced vegetable gardens, I have one on a dirt terrace on the side of my house. As you can see, it shares the space with iris, rudbeckia, zinnias, and roses. Not to everyone's taste, I'm sure, but I think it's beautiful. A fence would ruin the look.

I haven't had much loss from deer on the terrace. Usually they find better things to eat. Very soon that will include drops from our summer apple tree.

This is pretty!

When I plant anything, I always take into considerations of my wild neighbors. They are not as civilized as we are. So I'll only plant the plants that deer normally does not like.

They should be other plants that deer would not like in your garden. I'm not sure about hyacinth bean. Just something pretty and comes to my mind. Deer may love it.

Redsun

The deer did not touch the Rattlesnake beans on the same trellis last year or the year before or anything else in my garden beds last year for that matter. I think the sweet corn I planted in a new 1000 sq/ft bed drew the deer into the area and the newly born fawns were willing to try anything. They also ate most of the leaves from the cucumbers on the trellis next to the beans. A deer proof fence to surround all of my garden beds would need to be about 50' x 120'. Please do tell me how I can do that cheaply Redsun.