Purple Pole beans- my favorite snap bean variety!

This spring i planted several different variety of beans. i planted Royalty Bush beans, Blue Lake Bush beans, and Purple pole beans. i think i've raved about these pole beans before in other posts, but i'm really amazed by them!!

Both the Royalty purple and the Blue lake were attacked by Mexican bean beetles early on. No matter how often i hand picked the bugs off, there were always more!! The plants matured and produced beans, but then quickly began dying back. i really only got one big harvest from each variety before i pulled and burned the plants.

The Purple pole beans however, have continued to produce all season!! The mexican bean beetles seem to prefer the bush type plants. After they devastated my purple bush and blue lake bush beans, they moved on to the October beans. They are just finally making their way to my Purple pole beans. The plants are still strong and producing like crazy!



Purple pole beans produce a delicate purple flower and grow to over 6 feet! They are a beautiful plant to grow both as an ornamental and as a food crop!


The beans are flat, stringless and incredibly productive. They are a beautiful purple color, but blanch/cook green. They are delicious and i love being able to walk outside all summer long and pick fresh beans for dinner. i really can not say enough wonderful things about these beans!



This is my wall of beans. i planted them on twine between bamboo tee-pees. i really like this trellis set up. i plant cucumbers around the tee-pees, scarlet runner beans at the base of the poles, and purple pole beans on the twine in between the tee pees.


The beans are so productive i've been filling my colander about every other day with more than enough beans for dinner. i have already canned a ton, we've been eating them almost every night and i've been sharing them with the neighbors as well. i'm still getting plenty of beans from my first planting, and i have a second planting that is just beginning to produce!! So i'll be canning beans again in a week or so, and will be harvesting beans up until it frosts.

Because these are climbers, they are great for small space gardening. Mine have easily climbed bamboo poles, the twine between them, chicken wire and goat fencing.

i think some folks do prefer the beans that produce all at once, making it easy for canning or freezing. i would much rather enjoy fresh cooked beans all summer long! So if you have already started planning next years garden, i highly recommend these!!