Another thread on Long Beans

[macmex]

I wrote this yesterday, as one of the Tips of the Day posts for Homesteading Edu. It's too good for just a single use, especially since a tip will become hard to find, as other tips are "piled on top."  I tried to post it directly here, but that didn't work. So, here's the link. I can think of a whole lot more I could have said, but it was long for a tip, as it was!

George


The Amazing Long Bean/ Homesteading Edu

[glen]

George I enjoyed your article on long beans. As you know, I also did a thread on this bean. Long beans have their use, especially if you live in a hot place like I do. Long beans like heat and can grow in my insanely hot dry season. The problem for me is figuring out how to enjoy eating the pods. They taste different than regular snap bean pods. The main way to cook this bean to me is stir fried. Chinese style. If you just steam them yes, they are edible. But, they do not taste anything like steamed snap beans. If you can get over this than yes, these beans are terrific. Because as you said, they produce very well in horribly hot conditions. In Panama they grow a lot of cowpea's. I mean I think its the main kind of bean they produce. They produce them for the dried pea's. They don't eat the pods fresh here. And, for once I have to agree with them. Cowpea's make a much better pea, than they do a fresh pod for the kitchen. Now, if you can get over it, the pods are ok to eat. They are just different. Also, cowpea's produce a lot of pea's. The long beans can produce 15 to 20 pea's in each pod. That's nothing to sneer at. The problem is that the pea's are so cheap, its hard to justify growing them when you can buy a lb of these pea's for less than a dollar. Its probably at least this cheap in the Walmart near you. They are fun to grow and fun to shuck the pods on the back porch also. And, when its so hot out that nothing else will grow except black eyed pea's, the long bean will grow right along with it. Black eyed pea's are cow pea's also by the way.

[macmex]

Agreed. This summer I found, as with most summers, that I absolutely rejoiced in our Georgia Longs, being so glad we planted them and had them during the extreme heat of mid to late summer. But I also planted more snap beans in late July. As soon as they started coming in, the Georgia Long stopped getting picked. Now their vine are almost dead and there is no more production. This is mostly due to neglect on my part. I do need to get out there and harvest more dry seed, as there is a lot.

In my climate, I would be kicking myself if I did't plant a row of these.

[glen]

You can make yourself a pot of nice pea's. Another thing I like to do with the pea's is when I am making a pot of soup, you can throw a hand full of the dried pea's in the soup. They taste great in soup.