Bush Bean experiment with starting seedlings indoors worked well; make sure there are enough seedlings for the whole bed next year. All bush beans finished early (even those seeded in garden). Dragon Tongue did best, finished earliest. Green variety did well. Look for better-quality purple variety (Amethyst, Celine, or Velour?).
Fava Beans were the best ever! Repeat the same timing and techniques (in journal post) next year.
Lima Beans new variety (Christmas Pole) grew really well and produced lots of pods, but needed more time to mature than we can provide here. Though seed was planted early, most pods were still immature at the end of season. If growing limas again, choose a variety better suited for New England.
Peas (spring planting) generally did great. Mammoth Melting Sugar seed didn’t present as a snow pea; get that seed from a different source next year.
Peas (fall planting) planted twice. First planting (Cascadia) barely germinated due to hot soil and predation. Don’t provide a sheltered location for critters next year. Second planting (leftover Mammoth Melting Sugar) germinated well, but didn’t have time to mature. Plants were beautiful, but harvest was meager and late. Select a faster bush pea variety, watch weather to avoid hot soil and cover soil with folded insect screen to retain moisture and deter critters.
Pole Beans all had good germination, but a short harvest window. Kentucky Blues were stunted in proximity to Jerusalem artichokes. Purple beans did great. Garden of Eden Romano beans were better than Spanish Musica, though both did well.
Runner Beans were a new variety than last year; vines weren’t as long (didn’t cover top of arbor) and flowers not as decorative. Possibly planted too densely. Beans were nice quality and large, but mostly came late in season. (Our growing season may be too short.) Sadly, some were stolen by critters.
Shell (3 Sisters) Beans all did well. Grew mostly Good Mother Stallard, along with some donated black Succotash beans. Supports were added when corn began collapsing later in season.
Soybeans produced well, but were shorter than usual: could be starting indoors, variety, or weather.
