Bush beans (snap)

Snap beans run on succession here, a fresh short row every two or three weeks from late May to early August. Each round bears hard for a couple of weeks, then hands off to the next.

Growing

Direct sow once soil is warm in late May, an inch deep and a few inches apart; beans resent transplanting and never need it. A 7 to 10 gallon bag holds eight or nine plants and yields a legitimate picking. Resow every 2 to 3 weeks through early August; the last round comes in at the end of September, racing the cold. Pick at pencil size every other day, because pods left to lump up tell the plant to quit. No feeding needed; beans bring their own nitrogen. From first flower on, keep the rows evenly watered; a dry spell at bloom makes the stringy pods the variety gets blamed for.

Varieties

Provider germinates in cooler soil than the rest and opens the season; Jade carries the summer; Royal Burgundy is easier to spot against the leaves.

Pests

Mexican bean beetles, which look like ladybugs gone over to the other side, skeletonize leaves from midsummer; crush the yellow egg clusters and spiny larvae on the undersides during picking rounds. Succession itself is a defense, since each new planting outruns the buildup on the old one. Japanese beetles chew flowers and leaves in July; knock them into soapy water in the cool of the morning while they are slow.

In the kitchen

Steamed or charred whole while truly young. The surplus gets the dilly bean treatment in pint jars, garlic and a chile in each.