Dried beans from pole beans

[littleminnie]

My mom helped me gather and save tons of Rattlesnake and Purple pole beans. I have more than I need for seed. Are those good eating as dry beans?

[blackox]

Rattlesnake are good for dried beans, don't know about purple pole.

[steev]

Beans are beans. The question is: what do you want to do with dry beans? Do you want beans that are firm, for chili or salad, or beans that fall apart, for soup or refrieds? Play with 'em. You have nothing to lose but your appetite.

[raymondo]

Is Purple Pole like Purple King? Makes a great dried bean, much better dried than as a snap bean for me. As for Rattlesnake, I never have enough as I eat them fresh from the vine whenever I'm in the garden - my favourite pole snap bean.

[oxbowfarm]

In the book "Gardening When it Counts" by Steve Solomon (a book I dislike and don't generally recommend except for its irrigation section) he has a story of the early years of starting Territorial Seed Company and they were so poor they would eat the old snap bean seed once the germination had gotten low. They are just another dry bean.

[littleminnie]

I liked that book except for the humanure part. Kind of a weird chap though.

[paquebot]

There are some snap beans which do not make good dry beans. Doesn't matter how long they are soaked or cook as they will never soften. They are generally the ones which dry real tight and are a bugger to thresh out. I've got gallons of mixed beans from before I found that out.

Martin