Three Ways to Enjoy Beans

Reader Contribution by Brenda Lynn
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Gardening in a small space means that some crops must make way for others as the seasons change. Beans are a prolific crop that add nitrogen to the soil and pack nutritional punch. They’re a snap to grow, easy for kids to plant and harvest, and can be sculpted into teepees or shade trellises for shorter crops. In my Zone-7 garden, I was able to harvest a sizable crop throughout September. The beans would’ve happily produced a few more handfuls through October, but I was eager to plant my fall crops in their stead.

I grow both shell beans, or “shellies,” as my grandmother would say, and snap beans. Shell beans are typically cultivated for their dry seeds. They can remain on the vine until their pods are dry, or they can be brought indoors and dried in an oven or on a window sill. Shell beans tend to have thicker pods than snap beans. Common shelling beans are cranberry, fava, great northern bean, scarlet runner, and black-eyed pea. Snap beans are usually harvested earlier in the season and include green beans, bush beans, haricot vert, and sugar snap peas. However, there is quite a bit of crossover in how the beans are harvested and eaten. 

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