Broad beans, also called fava beans, are a cool-season crop. The broad bean is a bushy, hardy annual that can grow from 3 to 4½ feet (.9-1.3m) tall. The broad bean has square stems with leaves divided into leaflets. Plant broad beans, also called fava beans, directly in the garden 4 to 7 weeks before […] More
Southern peas are tender bushy or vining annuals. Southern peas are also called black-eyed peas, crowder peas, and yard-long beans. Southern peas are sometimes called cowpeas or field peas. Southern peas are more beanlike than pealike. The best-known Southern pea is the blackeyed pea. It is white with a distinctive black mark at the hilum […] More
Soybeans are bushy, free-branching, warm-weather annuals. There are more than 10,000 soybean cultivars. Seeds can be smaller than a pea or as large as a kidney bean. Soybeans grow 12 to 36 inches (30-91cm) tall. Stems and leaves are hairy. The flowers are white with lavender shading. Pods grow 1 to 4 inches (2.5-10cm) long […] More
Lentils are a cool-season legume. Sow lentils in spring as early as 2 weeks before the average last frost date. Lentils can be started indoors before transplanting to the garden; lentil seeds will germinate in 10 days at 68°F. Lentils require 80 to 110 days to come to harvest. Description. Lentils are a hardy annual; […] More
Need top-choice, sure-bet, best-pick, easy-to-grow bean varieties? Here are 25 top performers for the home garden divided into 5 popular bean types: (1) snap-bush green, (2) snap-pole green, (3) bush yellow, (4) lima, and (5) dried and shell beans. Keep reading to the bottom of this post for my tips for sure-fired bean growing success. […] More
Yard-long beans can be eaten raw or cooked. Sliced yard-long beans can be added raw to salads similar to French haricots verts. Yard-long beans can be steamed or sautéed as a side dish. They can be added to soups and stews. Yard-long beans have a chewy, crunchy texture–more so than snap beans–and a flavor reminiscent […] More
The black bean – Phaseolus vulgaris – is kidney shaped and just short of blocky looking with a cream-colored flesh, and, of course, a matt to shiny black skin. Why is the black bean found in so many cuisines? Two reasons: it holds its shape when cooked, and its floury texture absorbs the flavors of […] More
Piquant is a flavor that can be spicy, tart, or pungent. In this recipe that combines wax beans with chopped pimiento, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, and dry mustard, I think we are on the border between spicy and pungent. The wax bean is a pale yellow variety of green bean. Sometimes called yellow snap bean, the […] More
Here is a simple recipe for les haricots verts à l’ail or green beans with garlic. Serve this simple side dish with pasta, chicken, steak, or salmon. This recipe comes from La Cuisine du Comté de Nice by Jacques Médecin. Médecin was the mayor of Nice and also a chef in that city for many […] More
Legumes are plants that carry edible seeds in a pod. All beans, peas, and peanuts are legumes. Peas, soybeans, lentils, peanuts, chickpeas, cowpeas, lima beans, adzuki beans, green beans, haricot beans, mung beans, winged beans, yard-long beans, runner beans, and kidney beans are all legumes. Some legumes—such as peanuts and mature English peas–are eaten seeds […] More
Stephen Albert