Green Beans
Growing on the High Plains
SKIP MANCINI
PRODUCER AND HOST OF HIGH PLAINS HISTORY AND GROWING ON THE HIGH PLAINS
I just came in from the bean rows with my giant colander filled with bounty. I’ve already put up six pints of snap beans and given away twice as many. I’ve served green beans at several meals and still have three bags full in the refrigerator, patiently awaiting their trip to a final destination in my freezer. This was the third picking of the season, but the plants are loaded with blooms and show no signs of slowing down. I usually get four full pickings, beginning in mid June and spaced about five days apart. Then the plants take a deep breath and rest for a while before resuming another harvest. Then they trickle down to a manageable amount of beans, just right for single meals or big pots of vegetable soup in August. In September the beans and I are getting tired, and I’ll often start leaving beans on and letting them grow to shelly bean size. But even in the autumn of their life, my green beans will put on new growth and, depending on the weather and the spider mite population, will give one glorious burst of productivity before calling it quits and joining the rest of the garden on the compost heap.
Green beans originated in South America and were introduced to Europe by the Spanish Conquistadors in the 16th century. Originally called ‘string beans’, the strings have virtually disappeared and been replaced by bushy ‘snap beans’, which are much easier to prepare and more manageable to grow. However, some green bean aficionados swear that a climbing string bean delivers more flavor, so the seeds are still available if you’re in the market.
Green beans are one of the most dependable crops to grow on the high plains. They forgive the temper tantrums of Kansas weather, surviving the short spring, summer heat, and blasting winds in much better style than peas. Peas are persnickety, requiring cool weather, spring rains, and supports against the wind. Although I plant extra rows of peas each year, we never seem to have enough to give away. Green beans on the other hand are usually so plentiful they’re sometimes taken for granted. If left alone for a few days they’ll multiply and grow to astounding sizes. I pick my beans when they’re undersized – tender, slender and crunchy. This way I have the gourmet versions to serve year round, and by picking early and often I avoid an onslaught of a bushel of beans that are on the tough and stringy side.
“I pick my beans when they’re undersized – tender, slender and crunchy.”
For years I’ve planted Jade beans from the Vermont Bean Seed Company. They’re everything I could ever want in a bean – smooth, slender, grown in clusters and high on the stems for easy picking. They love living in Kansas and seldom are troubled by rust or spider mites. Once the company sent me a gift packet of a new hybrid bean to try. I planted them next to my Jades, and declared ‘may the best bean win’, but it wasn’t even a contest. The new beans were heavy producers but were harder to pick because they curled, with lots of foliage so you had to hunt for them. They also matured faster, seeming to get tough overnight.
So I’ll stay with the Jades and continue to enjoy picking beans in the cool mornings. With my cats for company and mourning doves serenading me, the colander fills faster and the rows seem shorter. As my fingers seek out the smooth green pods, my mind searches the past and looks to the future. I make major and minor decisions, line out chores to be done, and sometimes, hidden among the fresh green foliage I’ll find lost perspectives. Leave your day planner on the desk and come on out to the bean rows if you really want to put your life in order.
Skip Mancini’s radio program “Growing on the High Plains” airs Thursday at 10:30AM CST and on Saturdays at 8:35AM CST HPPR 91.9 FM airing out of Dodge City. Listen to archives shows on their website.
