I got some "Amerite" beans from the French Vegetables section of Wilhite Seeds' catalog this year, and just picked the first round of them. They are wonderful! Tender, sweet, no strings, almost all of the beans were beautiful with no brown spots, bugs didn't bother them much, and man were they good! They'd be easy to overcook though, I generally expect pole beans to be a bit tough but these cooked quicker than the Asian asperagus/stirfry beans do. (I'm in Zone 6, southwest VA, and this year's dry weather didn't seem to hurt them much) I know it's too late for most to plant this year, but thought some might like to add them to next year's wish list.
That's great. I planted a few bush beans this year, and what I got were good, but between the deer and the wild turkeys I think my bean crop is over for the year. It's too hot around here for them anyway. I think I'll look them up in the seed catalogs and maybe plant a few early next spring.
Gardener, They may work well for you, it's been abnormally hot and dry here in SW VA this year, we've had less than half the normal rainfall and the temps are far above normal. I did a little more digging into Wilhite Seeds and found out that they are a Texas seed company that specializes in plants that do well in that climate - so, they might work well for you if it's hot and dry where you live. I found them in a Google search and didn't pay much attention to the company details, I was just looking for something different than the same old leathery pole beans I can get locally.
They are strange creatures. There's one little hen that feels really at home here at the moment. She drinks out of the dogs water dish and hangs out on the front porch during the hot part of the day. They are really strange to watch when they fly. They don't fly far, but they can get some heighth.
