Cooper's Running Snap

[macmex]

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I received Cooper's Running snap in 2009 as a trade from Gardenweb member James Smith, whose screen name was “Red.” Mr. Smith wrote me:

My Name is James B. Smith jr  *** Morven Georgia 31638. The man that gave them to me was Owen Cooper Morven Georgia. His mother had the beans for years. Her name was Mrs Lula Belle Cooper.

And on June 17, 2009 Jame wrote:
Mrs Cooper just called it running snap bean.These people were real good country people. If it worked they kept doing it. If Mrs Cooper was alive she might remember. what they were called and where she got them.The green snap  beans look like rattlesnake beans. But the dry seed are smaller."

That year I planted two poles of this bean. Half of the seedlings were killed by rabbits. But the survivors produced a prodigious crop. Since that time I can't find my notes on 2011. But I did not grow it in either 2010 or 2012. In 2013 I planted a sizable planting of this bean. It produced really well. But we only got one or two pickings from it before the grasshoppers devoured the plants. I didn't grow it in 2014. So, this year I planted a 16' row and a tripod of this bean, in order to better get to know it and to renew my seed.

I've been told that Cooper's Running Snap is a lot like Rattlesnake. But there are, at least some strains of Rattlesnake which are not like Cooper's. For instance, this bean has beautiful pink flowers. At least some strains of Rattlesnake have white flowers. My original source apparently was familiar with Rattlesnake and commented that the seed of Cooper's Running Snap is smaller than that of Rattlesnake. Also, Cooper's Running Snap's pods have heavy strings and the one strain of Rattlesnake I've heard about is completely stringless. I prefer strings, as generally, once pulled, they leave a more tender pod an “string beans” hold better on the vine, being more palatable at a latter stage of development.

Cooper's Running Snap is heat resistant! This is important in Oklahoma! I LIKE this bean! I plan to multiply the seed and spread it around. This is also a good example of what is still out there, heirlooms, which need to be preserved.

Description I wrote in 2009:
72 days to dry seed. 8” long creased pods, of approximately the same quality as Kentucky Wonder. Very prolific and notably heat resistant. Pods are green with maroon streaking as they mature. Flowers are bright pink. Red mentioned to me that he believes that this been originated in the Okefenokee Swamp area.

[snickeringbear]

Dead ringer for Rattlesnake. Pink flowers, stripes on green beans, heat tolerant, etc. Strings are another thing though.

[macmex]

I haven't raised Rattlesnake. So I haven't been to sure what to think. Someone, somewhere else, said they were growing Rattlesnake from a given company, and that it was completely stringless and had white flowers. I suspect, somewhere down the line, Rattlesnake was a more diverse mix.

[snickeringbear]

Rattlesnake has been crossed to a lot of other beans over the years, mostly inadvertently, but losing important traits along the way. I have some of the old Rattlesnake from about 40 years ago that I've grown for several years. It has pinkish purple flowers, stripes on the beans, about 7 to 8 inches long, averages 6 seed to the pod. It is very heat tolerant. I have only found one bean that is more heat tolerant than Rattlesnake and that is the Oaxaca 5-1 line I got from ARS-Grin. Give me a few years, I'll come up with a Fortex bean with better disease tolerance and better heat tolerance than Rattlesnake!

[macmex]

This summer (2015) has been unusual, to say the least. We've had rain when we normally wouldn't. It was hard to get some things planted, as it rained when I had time to plant. Our temperatures were more moderate than usual, meaning we went through weeks reaching into the upper 90s, rather than triple digits. Even though the temps were more moderate, most beans did stop producing new pods for a while. Coopers Running Snap was no exception. Now, near the end of the season, we are definitely under drought conditions. Temperatures have been cooling for quite some time. Beans which survived until the end of August have mostly sprung back into production. Coopers Running Snap is going great guns!

One observation on this bean, for 2015, is that it just keeps producing. It has been exceedingly dependable and of very good quality. It is also a prolific producer of dry seed. On August 5 I planted a couple of poles of this bean in a small garden spot, which gets a bit more shade than I like. These younger plants are now producing. The later planting has been worth it, though, if it should frost soon, it will have just been worth it.

Overall, after three seasons growing this bean, I would conclude that this is truly a bean worthy of our challenging climate and of very fine quality. At this point my time is too limited to do the experiment. But it would be interesting to grow out some commercial Rattlesnake seed and see how it compares to this bean.

[chrysanthemum]

Bon mentioned these beans in a different post, and it caused me to find this thread and read through it. Even though it’s several years old, I just wanted to add that I think those beans are from a Rattlesnake seed stock. I’ve grown two modern commercial Rattlesnakes, and both look just like that. I snapped the ends off our first batch for eating this year, and some of the larger beans definitely had strings, so I don’t think that is a true distinction. Both my strains had those beautiful pink flowers.

macmex, if you’d like me to take photos of my current row or count beans inside pods or anything like that so that you can have more data on what Rattlesnakes are like, I’d be glad to help. One of my primary seed saving goals this year is to save seeds from these beans.

[macmex]

I suspect you're right. I'm not growing them this year, though I believe one of our local members (Tahlequah area) grows them every year. I'll try to get photos. Oh, also, Bon grows them every year, if I recall correctly. I've bee so bogged down this year that I only have one variety of bean planted at this point. I must get moving or we're going to be really hurting for veggies this summer. Still need to get sweet potatoes in the ground. No okra out yet. Roselle is languishing in the tray (not transplanted out yet). It's not shaping up well for our garden, and that's mainly because I can't find time to work on it.

[chrysanthemum]

The sun actually came out this morning while I was harvesting cucumbers (I have to hunt for a while to make sure I’m not missing something behind all the huge leaves).  The forecast predicts more heavy storms today through Sunday, so I went ahead and harvested some of my Rattlesnake beans while the leaves were pretty dry.  I took some photos.









Some of the beans are on the smaller side, but I have to do some contortions at times to reach them, so I’m likely to harvest small ones while I do that.  I’m also planning to make this batch into dilly beans, I think, so smaller is better than larger.  I’ll try to report on whether there are any strings in this bunch when I snap the ends.  Usually if there are strings, they are only on the larger ones, and even then they’re not really tough.

[macmex]

Bon, I have quite a bit of bean seed, of a good many varieties. Just tell me what you would like and we can arrange something. I actually have at least a pint of Hamby seed, just setting in a tray in my office at work. I stored all I could in frozen storage and they are what's left. Have lots of Tennessee Cutshort and sufficient of Old Timey Long Cut Greasy. I'm sure I have a good many more too. 

[chrysanthemum]

I just ended a whole bunch of Rattlesnake beans today, and I was noticing that they are losing their purple striping as the season goes on.  Does that happen to Cooper’s Running Snap as well?  (They do have some strings for me, especially as they age.)

Here’s a picture I took today.  I wasn’t focusing on the beans particularly, but I think it shows that they look mostly green.



Does anyone know if this is related to heat or age or stress?  I’ve noticed in the past that when I grow purple basil, it turns mostly green if it is too hot and dry.  

[chrysanthemum]

When is your average first frost date, Bon? I’ve probably asked before, but I need reminders. I had a good fall crop of beans last year from plantings in late August, but we had a late first frost last year, not till the very end of November.

I harvested the last of my fresh Rattlesnake beans the other day. The vines are pretty decimated now, so I’m going to leave them alone and let the rest go for dry beans. (I already saved my seed.). It won’t be much, but every little bit counts for something. I was pretty impressed that they gave us fresh eating beans for about three months.

[macmex]

Three months of bean production on a planting earns "bragging rights!"

[woodeye]

I like it, bon! The bean plants should love those strings, Thanks for the photos...