Beans, Beans and More Beans
Did you know that  Beans rival  Zucchini for abundant harvests? It's true~if you plant a row of  Bush Beans or a  Pole Bean tepee or two, expect to be picking Beans every day for weeks on end. You'll have plenty for family dinners and and to freeze for winter, when the taste of a homegrown Bean can bring back the summer sun in a single bite. In fact, The sheer abundance of a Bean harvest is just one of the reasons they're one of America's most popular vegetables to grow, second only to the  Tomato. 

  There's no need to start Beans under lights indoors. Sow them directly into the garden as soon as your last frost date has passed (find your last frost date HERE.) A second planting in early July will give you a crop of fresh, tender pods in late summer, just as the season's best  Tomatoes are coming on.
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Easy Direct-Sow Bean Tips
Here are three important facts about growing Beans to assure terrific germination and the most abundant harvests. 
1. Beans really hate the cold. Hold off pressing the magical seeds into your garden until there isn't even a whisper about night frost, when the soil is reliably warm. 
2. Beans hate being wet. The seedlings and mature plants prefer to be watered from beneath, rather than getting their foliage wet. Rain is obviously okay, but if you need to augment Mother Nature if it becomes really dry, water lightly and only water the soil around the base of each plant. (Beans even prefer to be picked when they are dry: strange but true.)
3. Beans need constant and thorough picking once they bear fruit or they feel unloved and stop producing. Try to pluck them all off, as even one hidden Bean left alone on the vine can cause productivity to drop off.

  Want to know more? All of our Beans come with complete planting instructions!

A Bevy of Beautiful Beans
  
Filet Bush Beans
To satisfy zee French in you, we carry six varieties of haricot verts, the pencil-thin Filet Beans loved by chefs everywhere. Pick them young and scandalously thin. **All seed counts are approximate.**
60 days. This Filet produces lots of straight, uniform baby Beans, 1/4" in diameter, with no strings! Nickel is hardy and stress-tolerant, but sow when soil has thoroughly warmed. Best harvested at 4" in length. (OP.)
55-60 days. Roc d'Or surpasses other wax beans in production, appearance and flavor. Roc d'Or is a continuous yielder of slim, round golden-yellow Beans. It is excellent for fresh eating, canning or freezing. (OP.)
A pack of 75 seeds is $3.85.
70 days. Pretty purple flowers metamorphose into incredible deep violet-colored, long, slender and tender, stringless pods. Its compact plants are perfect for containers and raised beds. (OP.)
A pack of 180 seeds is $3.95.
57-62 days. Soleil is a baby Filet Bean with the subtle, buttery flavor of wax Beans and yields a concentrated harvest. Babysit Filet Beans carefully, harvesting at about 4" long right before eating. (OP.)
A pack of 180 seeds is $4.55.
50 days. Maxi boasts early maturity, dependability, high yields and great flavor. A coveted, rarely found haricot vert, Maxi's tender, slender beans grow on upright bushes for easy harvest. (OP.)
A pack of 150 seeds is $3.95.
50-70 days. Throw a delicious garden party with our Festive Filet Bean Blend of Maxi, Roc d'Or and Amethyst Purple Filet Beans! It's perfect for small space gardens in need of color and diversity. (OP.)
Bush Beans
Bush Beans bear the same size Beans as Pole Beans, but on squat little plants that can hold themselves upright without support. They're also good for containers and smaller gardens. Bush Beans used to be known as String Beans, but thanks to plant breeders, they no longer have those fibrous strings and are tender tip to tip.
55-59 days. A classic green Bean of the finest quality, it has slender, rounded, 6" to 7" long, dark jade-green pods that are tender, sweet and absolutely delicious. We can not rave enough about Jade Green: it is the new favorite of demanding market growers. It has a truly great taste; produces high yields of premium Beans; is disease-resistant and holds the Beans well off of the ground on large, upright, 24" tall bushes, thereby keeping the Beans clean and dry. (OP.)
58 days. Hanging in perfect, easily-spotted golden clusters, this masterpiece-of-a-wax Bean yields 5½", straight, full, deep yellow pods. Gold Rush has superb taste and texture, and grows reliably in virtually every garden with disease-resistance to Bean mosaic virus and curly top as well as tolerance to root rot. It holds well and long on the plant and is as delicious frozen and enjoyed later over the winter, as it is lightly steamed fresh from the garden. (OP.)
50-55 days. Tolerant of cooler temperatures, Purple Queen can be planted two weeks before most other varieties. Hardy and very productive, it has pretty, mauve-purple flowers on strong, upright plants. Its rich, burgundy Beans grow to 5 1/2" long with an attractive, straight and round shape, easily spotted amongst its foliage. It magically changes to green as it is lightly cooked. (OP.)
45-55 days. Can't get to Tuscany? Grow Roma II and bring Italy to your table. The shape is wide and strappy and the flavor distinctively rich, beany, intense. We love them. Tall for a Bush Bean, these 2' vigorous plants produce an abundance of flat, wide, Romano-style Beans, best picked at 5" long. Be careful when cooking, don't overdo it. Roma II freezes well for winter meals of minestrone. (OP.)
55 days. This flat-podded Romano Bean yields luscious, pale butter-yellow pods that mature to about 7" long on a vigorous, compact plant usually no taller than 20". It's nice that Telemaco is resistant to common bean mosaic virus. (OP.)
55-60 days. If you have a smaller garden and crave a colorful bonanza of Bush beans, you will love this wonderful mix of three great snaps: Jade Green, Purple Queen and Gold Rush. They each have terrific flavor and texture. (OP.)
Pole Beans
Pole Beans are the kind Jack grew, and it's easy to see how they inspired that famous fairy tale. The seeds send up long, twining vines that wrap themselves round and round whatever they can find~bamboo poles, strings, or the handle of your rake if it's standing nearby. The vines can easily reach 8 to 10 feet tall, so they need sturdy support, their harvest season is longer than Bush Beans, and you can pick them from a comfortable standing position. **All seed counts are approximate.**
50-60 days. Émérite is a true Filet Bean from France, generously borne in cascading clusters on graceful vines growing up to 8' tall. Émérite sets heavy yields of uniformly slim, ¼" Filet Beans. The vines are beautiful with delicate rose-pink blossoms. (OP.) 
70-75 days. This oh-so-very-French Pole Bean has velvety, 10" purple pods that are perfectly smooth, slender and completely stringless. The dark green leaf-studded vines, lavender flowers and easily discovered purple Beans are as beautiful as the Beans are delicious. (OP.)
A pack of 60 seeds is $3.95.
70 days. AKA the Yard-long Bean, this wonder can reach 36" long but we suggest that you harvest them at 18" for the best flavor and tender texture. A Japanese import, it has bright, rich green string-less pods with a distinct, nutty Bean-Pea flavor. It has up to 10' long vines. (OP.)
A pack of 175 seeds is $4.85.
65-75 days. Discovered in an Ozark garden in the 1930s, this heirloom produces lots of deep wine-red pods that are 5" to 7" inches long. They are flavorful, high quality, meaty and string-less. The Beans are borne on sturdy, purple-tinged vines that climb vigorously to 6' tall. Once blanched, the Beans turn bright green. (OP.)
55-65 days. This American heirloom out produces most Pole Beans with rich, stringless Beans on 8' vines that continue yielding right through summer's end. Ideally picked when each delectable Bean is between 4" and 7" long, Blue Lake stores well and is highly recommended for freezing, canning and pickling. (OP.)
A pack of 150 seeds is #3.35.
65 days. This flattened, oval, Romano-type podded Bean can stretch up to a foot long! Intensely flavorful, Tamara's vibrant light green Beans stay tender on plentiful vines that can grow upto 8' tall. Disease-resistant, it is a market grower's dream for it is vigorous and prolific even in cool or hot, humid weather. (OP.)
Fava, Lima and Shelling Beans
We must also tease you with a few other members of the Bean family. Lima Beans are known in the South as Butter Beans. The plants need a long growing season and love hot weather. Homegrown Lima Beans are heavenly served fresh in salads, parboiled and bathed in butter, or partnered with corn kernels for home-style succotash. Fava Beans are an old-fashioned favorite that you can shell when green and tender or allow to dry for winter soups and stews. They are meatier than Lima Beans, with a sweet, nutty taste. Shelling Beans have been grown in the U.S. since the late 1700s. They have an earthy flavor that's deeply satisfying served cold on salads or hot in soups and stews.
90-100 days. Our select Italian Supersette Fava Bean is quite productive, yielding long, well-filled pods. It is meatier than a Lima with a sweet, warm, nutty taste. Producing pretty white flowers with black or deep purple markings, its plump pods house seven to nine, large, 3/4" inch Bean seeds. Or, how about a refreshing Fava Bean salad with cool, blanched Asparagus, diced Scallions and chilled shrimp with a honey mustard and lime vinaigrette? (OP.)
75-85 days. A gorgeous heirloom variety dating back to the 1840s, Christmas Lima is a large-seeded Bean with 4" to 6" pods housing quarter-sized, white seeds with maroon spots. Able to withstand extreme heat, it grows on vigorous vines that stretch to 10' tall. You will love its smooth, buttery texture. The versatile Bean can be used fresh as a green-shelled Bean or dried for cooking (it keeps its distinctive burgundy and white, batik-like marks). (OP.)
New! 70 days. Also known in culinary circles as Tongues of Fire, this celebrated Italian Bush Bean grows up to 2 feet tall and produces long, edible white pods that are heavily streaked and splotched with dark pink. While the pods are best eaten whole when young and tender, pods that are allowed to mature yield shelling beans that are cream speckled with deep red. They are delicious fresh and can be dried, as well, for warming winter soups and stews. (OP.)
90-100 days. Bush Beans. Also known as Black Beans, Turtle Soup Beans, Mexican Blacks and Frijoles Negros, Black Turtle is a South American heirloom introduced to the U.S. in the late 1700s. They are small, oval and have a beautiful, shiny, jet-black coat with lavish cream-colored flesh that imparts a soft, yet strong, earthy flavor with a hint of mushroom. A staple for Caribbean and Latin American cuisines, Black Turtle is a favorite choice for soup, Bean dips and salads. (OP.)
Enjoy Beans in Oh-So-Many Ways
Beans are a  snap  to grow, are rarely troubled by pests or disease, and are super delicious plucked off the vine and enjoyed raw, cooked and savored hot or cold or blanched and frozen. They can be served whole, cut or Frenched; steamed with a simple dab of butter and a bit of sea salt; dressed with toasted almond slivers and a Carrot ribbon; or mixed into a plethora of hearty casseroles.

Try our Green Bean Salad with Tomatoes and Feta~a perfect pairing and almost a meal in itself. Blanch one pound of Green Beans in boiling water until crisp-tender. Plunge them into an ice water bath to put a screeching halt to the cooking process. Dry and chill. Combine two ripe Tomatoes cut into ½" cubes, a small minced Shallot, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons chopped Parsley and freshly cracked black pepper. Add the chilled Beans and toss. Sprinkle with ½ cup (or more) crumbled feta cheese. It is a lovely hot August night supper served with a crusty baguette and a glass of sparkling white wine.
Mother's Day is Sunday, May 14th!
Direct-Sow Flower Garden!  This special collection is comprised of five timeless and beloved annuals that can be sown directly into your garden. They're easy to grow and so beautiful. The collection includes:

The Double Click Cosmos Mixture ~ A f rilly blend of 3" red, pink and white blossoms. 
Peach Melba Nasturtium ~ Semi-double, creamy primrose-yellow blossoms with pearly-red spots. 
Heavenly Blue Morning Glory ~  The classic Morning Glory with 3" to 4", light sky-blue flowers.
Jade Sunflower ~  A freely  branching  sunflower with 5", pale chartreuse flowers on 4' to 5' stems.
The Bright Jewels Cactus-Flowered Zinnia Mixture ~  Huge, 4" to 5" semi-double flowers with pointed, needle-like petals.

Until Mother's Day, get this special collection for $13.95, 23% off individual prices, with FREE SHIPPING AND HANDLING. Snag yours HERE. Order by Wednesday, May 10th to guarantee delivery before Mother's Day!
We share our best-of-the-best  recipes  in our online cookbook so you can feed your family and friends well without feeling frenzied, and practical, hands-on  Horticultural Tips  to demystify gardening with seeds. It's not tricky or difficult: it's more like easy magic. 
 
If you need help with anything, our office hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You can email us at  [email protected]  or call us at (860) 567-6086. Lance Frazon, our seed specialist, is happy to help you in any way possible. He loves to talk seeds.  
 
-To see our seed collection click:  Flowers , gourmet Fruits & Vegetables  and aromatic  Herbs .
-To request a 2017  Kitchen Garden Seeds  catalog, click:  Request Catalog.
-To look at our yummy recipes, like Green Beans with Creme Fraiche and Violas,  click:  Recipes .
-Call us at (860) 567-6086: We will help you in any way we can!

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