Rattlesnake Pole Beans

[chrysanthemum]

Last month, around the nineteenth of July, I think, my mom planted a row or Rattlesnake Pole Beans.  Some got nibbled off by bunnies before we put up a little fence right around the row to try to keep them out.  I had put a few pictures on the Woods Mountain Crazy Bean thread, but since it’s the Rattlesnakes that were better protected and therefore survived, I thought I’d better go ahead and start a separate thread on them.

A week or two ago, my mom and I put up a second fence above the first to let the Rattesnakes keep climbing before they flop back over.  The beans at both ends are well over the tops.  The ones in the middle were the ones that suffered the most nibbling.  They’ve grown back, but they look more like bush beans at this point.  I assume they’ll catch up at some point.

I’ve been watching for flowers and was delighted to find the first few this morning.

[chrysanthemum]

I’m being impatient for beans, I have to admit.  They’re flowering and setting pods, but I think it takes longer for the pods to develop in Virginia than it did in Texas.  [Had I been in Texas, however, I’m not sure the pods would have set at all.  I just read that this summer has now officially surpassed all the records in San Antonio for the hottest on record, surpassing last year by a good bit, and that was a bad gardening year for me.]. I’m having to remind myself that it hasn’t been two weeks yet since I spotted the first few flowers.  It just feels like longer since I’m wanting to harvest.

I’m also starting to wonder if the beans in the middle of the row my be my Woods Mountain Crazy Beans.  I had soaked Rattlesnake seeds, but I think the row ended up being longer than my mom anticipated.  She started at one end, and I started at the other, and we planted the soaked beans.  She got dry beans to go in the middle, but I wonder if she got the wrong ones since she isn’t really familiar with my varieties.  At first I just thought they were set back by nibbling, and they were, but it seems odd that they haven’t climbed more.  I really can’t tell a difference in the leaves and the flowers, but the low beans are definitely bushier.  It will be interesting to see what comes in.

[chrysanthemum]

We had a mini-harvest of green beans today.  I think that the center bean plants of the row must be Woods Mountain Crazy Beans rather than Rattlesnake beans.  These were just some that we plucked to have a taste test.  My mom and I preferred the Rattlesnake [thinner, purple-streaked ones].  My youngest preferred the Woods Mountain Crazy Beans.  Both were quite tasty, though, and I’m sure looking forward to having a mess of these to sauté in coming days.

[chrysanthemum]

My mom and I did the first harvest of beans today.  I really did have to take the step ladder to the garden to reach the uppermost vines.  The Rattlesnake beans may outnumber the Woods Mountain Crazy Beans, or they may just mature earlier, but they won the weight contest.  I had thirty ounces of beans, I believe, and twenty three and one half of those ounces were from the Rattlesnakes.  

I had planned to have the beans sautéed this evening for supper, but while I was out at an appointment this morning, my mother started a pot of chili.  Her chili is delicious, and I wasn’t going to turn it down, so the beans will wait until tomorrow to grace our table.  I am looking forward to them.

[chrysanthemum]

I’m very pleased with how well the bean row is doing.  I harvested fourteen ounces of Rattlesnakes yesterday and another thirty six ounces today [with help from the ladder].

[chrysanthemum]

The abundant rain from the tropical storm this weekend made for a really hefty harvest of beans this morning.  Some were getting past the good eating stage, probably, but my youngest and I picked everything that wasn’t on a pole designated for seed saving.  We ended up with more than three pounds of Woods Mountain Crazy Beans and more than six pounds of Rattlesnake [the three buckets in front].  My son was particularly excited because he kept picking beans that were as long as his forearm to his wrist.  We called it a “kid cubit” since it wasn’t really full-length, but he got his exercise in climbing up and down the ladder and running to show Grandma all the large beans he found.  Grandma kindly ended, chopped, and canned seven quarts of beans this afternoon, with the extra ones going into cold storage.  

[triffid]

It's lovely to see you've had a productive bean season, congratulations on the harvest and well done to your son for being such a good helper (and unit of measurement).

Your photo from 3rd Sept beautifully captures the vivid colour of the flowers. The blooms are perhaps an underappreciated part of the bean-growing process.They're often small I suppose but those in your picture look quite large, verging on runner bean size!

I may have missed this but have your compared Rattlesnake to Zelma Zesta?

[chrysanthemum]

I agree with you about the beauty of bean flowers, triffid. I would say that they’re a favorite of mine, but then I have to admit that there’s hardly a flower on a vegetable or fruit that I don’t enjoy. I’m even quite a fan of radish flowers.

I have not compared Rattlesnake to Zelma Zesta. I know I’ve heard the name before, and I found an old thread on this forum about them, but it didn’t have much by way of information. I also found a listing on a seed vendor site to which I’m partial called “Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.” They’re actually located in the same geographic region where I’m located now [central Virginia rather than south central Texas]. They’re out of stock, but the listing actually describes the bean as a “Rattlesnake type.” Have you ever had experience with Zelma Zesta?

[macmex]

Rdback has a good, well preserved strain of Zelma Zesta. He sent me a packet of seed which is in my frozen storage.

[chrysanthemum]

Here’s a photo of the seed beans that my mom harvested earlier this week for me.  They’re still drying out a bit before I shell them out, but it looks like I’ll have a good crop of seed.  Whether it’s pure or not, I don’t know, but it will be interesting to see.

We also got a last good harvest of fresh beans for eating.  My mom has definitely enjoyed this particular strain.

[heavyhitterokra]

Chrysanthemum,

Your gardening posts make my heart happy. Thank you, for sharing your recent successes and joys with the rest of us.   After the long drought and grasshopper plague, reading of other's more fruitful endeavors is very uplifting.  I for one really appreciate that.  

[chrysanthemum]

I’m glad you’re able to enjoy others’ joys in the midst of your sorrows, heavyhitterokra. That goes a long way for a person’s heart and soul and is a mercy of the Lord.

I’m going to try to make one more post on the forum and then go snap some Rattlesnake Beans into a pot of roast and vegetables that I have cooking.  I discovered that my mom packed up two good-sized plastic bags of fresh beans while I was sick.  Yum.

[heavyhitterokra]

Oh, man, that makes me hungry for a big pot of homemade stew!

[chrysanthemum]

I shelled out my Rattlesnake bean seed today.  Many pods weren’t filled, but I still got what appears to be a lot of good seed.  I have it in a glass jar right now to check for any condensation issues before popping it in the freezer.

hedgeapple , let me know if you’d like any of this seed.  It was grown near some Woods Mountain Crazy Beans, so I can’t guarantee that it’s not crossed.  These pods came from the most isolated ends of the row, but it’s still a possibility.

 

[hedgeapple]

Jan 26, 2024 9:54:33 GMT -6 chrysanthemum said:

I shelled out my Rattlesnake bean seed today.  Many pods weren’t filled, but I still got what appears to be a lot of good seed.  I have it in a glass jar right now to check for any condensation issues before popping it in the freezer.

hedgeapple , let me know if you’d like any of this seed.  It was grown near some Woods Mountain Crazy Beans, so I can’t guarantee that it’s not crossed.  These pods came from the most isolated ends of the row, but it’s still a possibility.

 

Chrysanthemum: I messaged you a few days ago. Please let me know if you didn’t receive that. 😊