Asparagus Green Podded Pole Bean Seeds - (Vigna unguiculata)

Asparagus Green Podded Pole Bean - The Long Bean

A vigorous climber that begins to produce its trademark string-less long pods about 60 days after planting. Produces light-green pods in pairs, smaller diameter than black-seeded type, has red or maroon seeds with darker brown streaks when mature, popular in Asia and Japan. Pods can grow 14 - 30" long, but have the best flavor when harvested at 15 - 18". Also known as Chinese Long Bean.

Pods grow very quickly in warmer climates, less so in mild or cold ones.  Highly productive and reliable variety that is excellent for home and market gardens.  

Uses

Young edible pods are very crisp, tender and delicious. Unique and essential in Asian cooking, they are usually cut into short sections and stir fried, steamed or added to soups and stews. Long beans are cut into shorter sections and cooked like common green beans, used in place of string beans. 

Harvest Tip

For Snap Beans, wait until they are about pencil size, but harvest before the beans inside the pods become lumpy. Snap beans, are snapped, strings removed and eaten fresh or cooked.

For Fresh Shell Beans, let the seeds in the pods get good and fat. You shell/remove the green beans from the pod and they are eaten fresh or cooked.

For Dried Beans, let the pods get brown and dry on the plant. Pick them before they can split open and spread out to finish drying. Remove from dried pods and store. Dried beans are usually soaked and cooked.

History

Neither a standard pea nor a bean, the cowpea belongs to a subtropical group of legumes characterized by upright bushes that bear beautiful lilac or white blossoms. Indigenous to Africa, cowpeas have been used in agriculture since ancient times. The crop spread to Europe, India and Asia more than 2,000 years ago. In southern China, a form with slender pods (asparagus bean) was developed. Cowpeas were introduced to the Southern states during the period of slave trade. Looked down on by the Southern aristocracy, they were christened with the name cowpea because they were thought fit only for animals to eat. Today, cowpeas are cherished in many cultures and the most famous is the black-eyed pea.

Learn More

• Spring Garden Soil Elixir

From the soil to the seed to the food you eat - we'll help you grow your best garden!