The Chinese Noodle Bean is a plant that I was never even aware of until late last year when I ordered some seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (www.rareseeds.com). Hands down, this is one of the best garden vegetables that I have ever grown, so I'll share some pictures, stories, and possibly even some seeds with you.
The Chinese Long Bean varieties that I ordered and am growing are the three following kinds; the Chinese Green Noodle Bean, the Chinese Mosaic Long Bean, and the Chinese Red Noodle Bean. This first Garden Plant Spotlight will feature the Chinese Red Noodle Bean. Because I believe in gardening, steemit, and blessing others, I will even send out 10 free Chinese Red Noodle Bean to 10 different people who comment on this post. There is no need to even upvote it, only comment. Unfortunately due to various customs laws, I will only be shipping these free seed packs to United States addresses, and not internationally. (My apologies to the rest of the world). I'll be picking ten replies randomly sometime this week and contacting them later for shipping addresses. Anyway, enough about the giveaway let's move on to why I love this garden plant!
First of all, just check out the size! Here is this evenings harvest of long beans. The pinkish one in the middle is the Chinese Mosaic Long, and the Red and Green Chinese Noodles speak for themselves. I harvest the pods at around 12 to 18 inches, and let some grow even longer to save seeds for next year.
These are the long bean seeds I have already saved for next year. Since seeds for this year were purchased for less than $10, that was already a great investment. But when a few months after planting I have already more than doubled what I bought with fresh 2016 seeds (and I didn't even plant all of the originals), I'd say that it's an edible gift that keeps on giving. The black seeds in the picture are for the green variety, the reddish brown ones for the red variety, and the multicolored white and red ones are the Mosaic Long. (I'll be sending out a minimum of 10 each of the red, and probably throw in some of the others as a bonus. Yes, a free gift within a free gift.)
Check out the size of this one compared to my four year old daughter! Once they get this big I usually let them "go to seed" for future planting.
They dry very well on the plant and eventually turn a light tan color and get brittle. The seeds are very easy to remove and store at this point. Interestingly, seeds are apparently not the only way to propagate these plants.
Often I will need to help the sprawling vines get back on the trellis or fence, and sometimes the new growth can be quite tender and break off in the process. Since I had nothing to lose, I tried sticking one of these broken vines in a glass of water.
As you can clearly see from the roots, apparently Chinese Red Noodle Beans can be propagated just by placing them in a glass of water. No rooting hormone needed!
Here is a picture of the harvest from yesterday morning (as posted on @papa-pepper/if-a-penny-saved-is-a-penny-earned ).
This was the harvest tonight. In just over a day, the same plants that I picked clean yesterday had already turned out a massive harvest again.
Thankfully, there are other means of using these vegetables besides eating them fresh. I'm pretty sure that they can be frozen, perhaps even without blanching. Also fermenting them should be a valid option, though I cannot personally vouch for either of those methods. I can testify that they taste amazing pickled. I went old-school and used a simple salt, distilled water, and vinegar mixture in a hot wat bath, and the kids ate them up quick. I wanted to be sure it would be worthwhile for me to can them so I did a test run first, and it passed their palate test. If I had to guess, I'd say that right now we are getting enough noodle beans on a daily basis to have them provide a sufficient amount of vegetables for that day of the summer and two days of winter.
Another reason that I really appreciate this plant in my garden is that the bugs don't seem to care too much for it. Just look at this picture of the leaves on my pole beans.
Now compare it to this image of my Chinese Noodle Bean foilage. Of course without using pesticides to kill all the potential garden pests, to a degree organic gardens are a potential salad bar for bugs. The Japanese Beetles are always a potential threat, and they attack my green beens like crazy. (They are a good food source for the chickens, but wreak havoc on the pole beans). Thankfully though, these noodle beans growing right next to them remain mostly untouched, though a few holes in the leaves testify to the fact that at least these plants are safe enough for bugs to eat. Also, noodle beans do better in hot temperatures than traditional green beans, so for my new growing zone right on the edge of 6 and 7, it's a great addition to the garden.
When comparing the three varieties of long beans that I planted, I have to upvote the Chinese Red Noodle Bean instead of its competitors. They are tasty and producing, but the Chinese Mosaic Long Bean isn't close to as big as a producer as the Red Noodle. The Chinese Green Noodle Bean produces well, but appears to have way more leaves than the Red Noodle and still doesn't produce as well. When you add in the striking contrast of the dark reddish-purple long bean against the green leaves provided by the Chinese Red Noodle Bean, the ease of picking is greatly increased. Often, the Green Noodle beans look similar in shape and color to it's stems and vines. There is no confusing the bean for the plant with the Red Noodle, and the fewer amount of leaves makes it even easier. In the picture above I planted Red on the left side and Green on the right. Note the difference in leaf quantity and then consider that I get about 3 to 4 times more produce from the left side. Amazing, isn't it?
Yep, the Chinese Red Noodle Bean, one of the best new plants in my garden. You can find out for yourself next year if you've never tried growing them before. Try winning some here by commenting and add a "US" at the end of your comment (or simply comment "US") so that I know I can ship your 10 free seeds within the United States if you are one of the ten winners that I randomly select. (Again, my apologies to the rest of the world.) I'll message you later if you're selected to get a shipping address if you win, and if you don't win, you can always order some online with all the money you made on steemit.
Good luck and enjoy the garden. -Papa Pepper