For the last two years we have had a bumper bean crop. Green beans, runner beans and pole beans. Luckily we love them!
scarlet runner bean flowers with baby beans
Most of my seed is from West Coast Seeds, whose seed I have been buying since they were Territorial Seeds back in the 90s. We grow: scarlet runner beans, green bush beans, tri-colour bush beans (purple, yellow and green bean plants), yellow wax pole beans and dwarf bush scarlet runner beans. The beans are delicious raw or cooked, and man do the plants produce!
pole beans
My vegetable beds are prepared in late fall with seaweed, and then in early spring with compost from our home compost box. I don’t feed my plants during the growing season, just water really well.
dwarf bush scarlet runner beans
Last year I froze a large quantity of the runner beans and pole beans. This year I have frozen some of the bush beans already, and it looks like there will again be more runner and pole beans than we can eat. I will give some of them away, of course! I freeze my beans (and my peas) in meal-size amounts.
purple and yellow bush beans
I don’t know if next year will bring another great crop, but for now I will take my crown as The Bean Queen!
Rocks, Waves, Beach 
Gack, beans….you scared me. Just promise not to give me any!
By: Shannon B on August 20, 2007
at 11:45 am
Oh alright. Geez I had a big bag in the fridge for you …. KIDDING! I know better than that.
By: 0521kt on August 20, 2007
at 1:22 pm
The QUEEN BEAN! All Hail the QUEEN BEAN!!! ha ha, that ought to be your bogger name!
By: Olga on August 21, 2007
at 5:31 pm
I will now wear my wreath of bean tendrils wherever I go…
By: 0521kt on August 21, 2007
at 5:45 pm
Just Wondering if anyone has had a problem with flower drop never had this problem till this year, thanks
By: pumpkinhead on January 17, 2008
at 7:45 pm
Could be excessive heat causing the flower drop. I also find that my runner beans often drop the first few flowers on each branch .. then the back flowers form the beans. Has the weather been weird at all? Sometimes a shock can cause it.
By: Kate on January 22, 2008
at 10:16 pm
Hallo Queen Bean,
I am new to beans. I had a small bag of beans that were left over from last year, they were supposed to go into a soup, there were many different kinds….last week I decided to plant them all.
I have about 12 pots of different shapes and sizes, and they have all sprouted! Now what? I guess I need a place for them to vine out? This is exciting.
But I want the Scarlet Runner Bean ~ it’s pretty.
By: Roxie on April 20, 2008
at 7:18 pm
Hi Roxie,
Sounds exciting! Try putting some stakes/sticks in the pots for the vines. Or even strings running to a railing will do – they’re pretty willing to vine on anything, as long as it is vertical you’ll get good growth.
Scarlet Runner Beans are available most places that sell seeds.
By: Kate on April 21, 2008
at 4:44 pm
[…] My Title Two years ago I crowned myself The Bean Queen. If there is one thing I can grow really well, it’s […]
By: Retaining My Title « Rocks, Waves, Beach on August 4, 2009
at 5:03 pm
[…] thing to grow. I was skeptical (after all, radishes are pretty darn easy and I have a thing for the beans, you know) but I thought why not, and in the fall, after cleaning out my beds, I planted two rows […]
By: Growing Garlic « Rocks, Waves, Beach on April 12, 2012
at 6:50 pm
[…] garden has done well this year, thanks to sunny skies and good watering. This means my crown of Bean Queen is safe once again, as my garden can produce beans like no other! Runner beans, pole beans, yellow […]
By: Title Retained | Rocks, Waves, Beach on August 11, 2013
at 10:34 am