Hi.
I'm Heidi Rader here in the Alaska Garden.
I'm with UAF Cooperative Extension Service
and Tanana Chiefs Conference.
And I'll be talking all about growing vegetables, flowers,
and berries in your garden and farm.
The difference between a fresh green bean and a canned one
is huge.
But green beans or snap beans aren't the only kind of bean
you can grow in Alaska.
Runner and fava beans also do very well
and you can even grow beans for the bean itself,
although that requires extra patience, time, and dedication.
Bean terminology and categories can
be overlapping and confusing.
For instance, a snap bean could be a bush bean or a pole bean
and could also be grown just for the beans.
Runner beans-- a different species--
can be grown with the intent of eating the entire pod, just
the bean, or as an ornamental.
And in the US, you'll often find the seeds
categorized under flowers rather than with beans and seed
catalogs.
Like pole beans, they are climbers
and are either characterized as half runner or runner beans.
Further, fava beans are even more different
and are a different genus and species than beans and runner
beans.
Common beans-- or Phaseolus vulgaris--
as you might expect, are the most commonly grown bean
in Alaska.
There are varieties that only get about two feet tall--
bush beans, and ones that climb high-- pole beans.
Sometimes the entire pod is eaten--
green or snap beans, while sometimes just the bean
is eaten.
There are some that produce tasty pods and beans
while others are produced mainly for one or the other stage.
Usually in Alaska common beans are
grown with the intent of eating the whole pod
because it takes fewer days to mature--
between about 50 and 60 days, tack on at least a month or so
if you want to grow them for dried beans.
Pole beans are great if you have a small garden.
They are an easy solution for maximizing your space.
They are also easier to pick and less susceptible to white mold
since they are kept off the ground
and have more air circulation.
They do take longer to mature--
upwards of 60 days.
There are many more varieties of bush beans than pole beans,
likely because bush beans are grown commercially
and harvested mechanically, while pole beans are grown more
in the home garden.
Common beans love hot weather and are susceptible
to white mold, particularly in rainy, cool summers.
Bush beans can be staked to mitigate white mold problems.
And pole beans should always be staked
to maximize productivity.
Runner beans are hardier than common beans
and take upwards of 60 days to mature, and of course,
longer if you're growing them to eat the beans.
Their flavor is said to be more intense than common beans
and are preferred by the British and
in other European countries.
The pods can be a bit tough, particularly
those of Scarlet Runner beans.
Terry Reichardt, a committed, knowledgeable Fairbanks
Gardener, grows Scarlet Runner beans for the seed
and prefers to eat Stardust beans at the green bean stage.
Fava beans thrive in cold weather.
They mature in about 75 days.
The pods can be shelled and the beans
frozen or dried for later consumption.
Terry, a committed locavore, only
grows them every other year to meet her family's needs.
Bush beans have been trialed at the Fairbanks experiments
farm for more than five nonconsecutive years.
Provider, Romano Gold, Contender, Rocdor, and Carson
topped the list of varieties recommended by Extension
and trialed in Fairbanks.
Venture was also frequently recommended,
but I don't see a good current source of seed.
In the 2018 preliminary, or nonreplicated trials,
in Fairbanks, Provider was the top performer
while Rocdor and Bountiful were close behind.
Royal, Burgundy, Royalty Purple Pod, Tendercrop, Jade II,
and Romano Gold were eliminated from subsequent trials because
of poor performance.
In replicated trials in 2019, Bountiful,
Contender, Jumbo, and Rocdor all produced similarly well
and outperformed Provider, the longtime standard
for Alaska gardeners.
Best bet?
Personally, I would choose Bountiful, Rocdor, Contender,
or Jumbo.
I've never liked the taste of Provider much.
So if there are productive alternatives that
do OK in our temperatures, I am happy to pass it over
for other varieties.
I haven't seen any formal trials of pole, runner, or fava beans
in Alaska.
Terry Reichardt's top pole bean pick
is Fortex, followed by Algarve, and Kew Blue.
As mentioned previously, Terry grows Scarlet Runner beans
for the beans and Stardust for the entire pod.
Broad Windsor is her favorite fava bean,
followed by Negreta and Green Windsor.
Before I plant beans, I soak them overnight
to speed up germination and then sprinkle inoculant over them.
This encourages them to fix some of their own nitrogen. I space
them about 2 or 3 inches apart in double rows, about a foot
apart and trellis the pole beans.
Terry recommends starting pole and runner beans indoors
around April 20 and transplanting them outside.
Sometimes I find that beans and peas do not transplant well,
and I try and direct seed whenever I can.
In hot weather, Terry recommends actually
spraying runner and pole beans.
One other bonus with beans is that many are open pollinated
and self pollinating.
So if you get them in the ground early enough
to mature to the dry bean stage, it's
a cinch to save their seeds to grow next year.
Instead of harvesting them as you normally would,
leave some on the vine to mature fully and then start to dry.
You'll likely need a month beyond their normal maturity
to do this.
For more information on growing beans,
see the links below this video.