Description

Yard long purple beans are tasty and abundant producers. I find that they produce even better than the already very productive yard long green beans. The deep purple color makes them easier to find when harvesting than the green variety. They love the hot and humid weather of South Florida since they are from Southeast Asia. They can grow up to 3 feet long when fully mature! However, you don't want to wait till they're that long to harvest them if you plan on using them as green beans. These are best harvested when the pods are still smooth and don't have indentations from the seeds inside. If left to mature more than this they might be too tough to eat.

There are new flower buds that grow on the stem right next to the green bean, so harvesting is done by holding the stem and then rotating the green bean till it detaches. You want to do it gently so the new flowers don't fall off. These are eaten raw or cooked. They can be used in any green bean recipe and maintain their purple color after cooking. They are annual pole beans so they require a trellis. I use a chain link fence to trellis mine. Plant them around 6 inches apart and in full sun to light shade. I like to soak the seeds in water overnight to ensure they all germinate. They are best grown in South Florida during the warm months but may get a bit stress during the middle of summer. Provide them with plenty of water and some afternoon shade if you see that they are distressed.