Questions about beans?

'Tavera' Bush Bean

A very fine organic filet bean meant to be picked while the pods are pencil-thin. Plants resist bean anthracnose and bean common mosaic virus.

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What does "Halo Blight-Free" seed mean?

Halo blight is a seed-borne bacterial disease that can cause heavy losses in bean crops, and it can persist in old bean residue. That is why most bean seed is grown in dry, irrigated parts of the western U.S., where the disease seldom occurs.

What do inoculants do?

Inoculants carry bacteria that settle on the roots of legume-family plants (beans included) and trigger root nodules, where nitrogen from the air is "fixed" into a form plants can take up. (For more, see the Inoculant Tech Sheet.)

Does bean seed color matter?

In cool soil, dark-seeded beans emerge more reliably than white-seeded types.

Do some beans handle heat better than others?

Yes. For beans, heat tolerance shows up as better pod set in hot weather, and it is a heritable trait breeders can select for.

Why do growers say "pick your beans in the afternoon"?

Picking after the leaves have dried helps keep disease from spreading. Common bacterial blight (Xanthomonas phaseoli), halo blight (Pseudomonas phaseolicola), and bacterial brown spot (Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae) all move most readily when plants are wet, as they usually are while morning dew is on them.

Do purple beans keep their color when cooked?

Purple pods usually turn green when cooked, though some may keep a faint burgundy tint depending on how they're prepared.