String Beans

[Simon]

This is my first season growing string beans. question: how do I know when they are ready to be picked? Do they become too hard if I leave them on the bush for too long?

thanks, Simon

[Billy]

They will stop producing new ones :o)

[FarmI]

Do they look like they are big enough and long and plump enough? it won't hurt if you pick them a bit on the small side but they get coarse if they get too old on the plant. Do they snap if you bend them because they should. If you leave them too long you will be able to see fatter bits in them which is the internal bean inside the pod developing so you should try to pick them before this happens.

[Wil]

I also planted string beans, six plants in all. Three of them are about four feet long now and it looks like they are looking for something to climb up on. The other three seem to be much smaller and don't seem to grow as fast although they are all in the same bed.

Anyone have an idea of why they are growing at much different rates although I treated them all the same?

Thanks, WIl

[Simon]

I saw that on my plants, they vary in size according to spacing/sun. I had some spout a bit later than other (maybe soil temp, water or how deep I buried them) , and since the later sprouting ones were smaller, they also got worse as the season goes by because the sun was blocked by the earlier sprouting ones! i also noticed for my pea plants, that if there is nothing to climb on, they tend to grow slower.

Simon