Two New Beans in 2015

[macmex]

Last fall Annette, one of our Canadian seed savers gave me two varieties of bean to try. Both are pole beans, meaning they require support. Both appear to be suitable for snap, shell or dry usage. But there the resemblance ends. They are quite different. Berta Talaska is a very large podded variety with large colorful (maroon/white) seed. Poletschka  produces smaller, 3-4" pods and small, almost round, black seed. Last night I picked some Poletschka pods, green, to try as snaps. But, alas, we ran out of time to prepare them. Still, I have tried both raw, when green, and they both appear to be suitable for snaps.  I would give two caveats at this point:

1) Suitable as snaps, doesn't mean that they necessarily shine as snap beans. When I say "suitable" I mean that they're okay. But I'm not suggesting that one grow them just as snap beans.
2) I have concluded that it takes three growing seasons to properly assess most any garden variety. There are simply too many variables to consider, to be secure in an assessment, after only one growing season.

As I examined these beans, growing, this season, it kept coming to mind, that Berta Talaska might be a really good bean to start a child into gardening. The seed is so beautiful and the pods so large, that it would probably be a hit with small children. Poletschka might be a good option for dry black beans. Though my production was quite late, perhaps due to shade.

Here's a picture of the two, side by side, as I shelled some pods last night.




George

[macmex]

Okay, Last night I tried Poletschka as a cooked snap. I would rate this bean as "not a snap bean." It was edible but hardly palatable. Best use for this bean is probably as a dry bean, followed as a shelly.

[macmex]

Here's a link to a Tomatoville discussion on Berta Talaska.

forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2010718/berta-talaska-pole-beans

[philagardener]

You are pretty close to fresh beans for Thanksgiving! Is that late for your garden?

(Your photos in the OP aren't showing up for me right now - I don't know if that is a server issue or a problem with the links.)

[philagardener]

Pictures are showing fine now! Pretty seed!

[macmex]

Our first killing frost was almost a month later than usual, which is interesting, as the spring and summer were considerably cooler than usual. Still, it was nice to have a late fall harvest of beans!