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I’ve found that growing beans in containers is one of the best ways to enjoy fresh, homegrown snap beans—especially if you’re short on garden space. Whether you have a balcony, patio, deck, or even a sunny indoor spot, beans thrive in pots with the right care. I’ve grown bush beans in large containers for quick…
Dried beans are cooked and served in many ways–in salads, soups, casseroles, stews, and chilis. Dried beans can be served alone or as a side dish with meat or pasta or rice. Dried beans are commonly boiled and then sometimes baked or refried. Dried beans are beans whose seeds are dried and shelled after reaching…
Fresh, tender snap beans have a delicate flavor that is delicious eaten raw or just lightly cooked. Both the immature seeds and seed pods are edible. Green beans are snap beans, but snap beans can also be yellow, purple, and splotched in multiple colors. The peak season for fresh local snap beans is late spring…
Shell beans are any members of the legume family that are shucked or shelled. All beans grow in pods. Shell beans are cooked and served after they have been shelled. The pod is not eaten. Shell beans include black-eyed peas, cranberry beans, fava beans, and lima beans. Shell beans are also called shellies, shellouts, shelly…
The fava bean—which is also known as the broad bean, English bean, Windsor bean, and horsebean–can be eaten fresh or dried. As fava beans mature, their flavor grows increasingly starchy and strong. The smallest beans—less than the size of a small fingernail—are the sweetest. The outer skins of medium- and large-sized fava beans have a…
Whether you’re growing pole beans, bush beans, lima beans, mung beans, scarlet runner beans, asparagus beans, or southern peas, you’ll quickly realize that all these crops share common gardening challenges. Over the years of growing a variety of beans in my garden, I’ve encountered a range of pests and diseases that can threaten the health…
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