Kentucky Blue or Kentucky Wonder

16 years ago

I posted this yesterday over on the legume forum, but no one has responded. I'd really appreciate some help in deciding which one. I'm going to be growing Asparagus Yardlongs and Cherokee Trail of Tears this year. I want to grow one more pole bean. Right now I have seeds for both Kentucky Blue & Kentucky Wonder. I grew Kentucky Wonder two years ago with great success (despite having to fight off Japanese beetles). So I was leaning towards something different, the Kentucky Blues. However, I've read more favorable things about Kentucky Wonders, which has left me confused. If you had to choose between the two, which one would you pick and why?

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Comments (7)

corapegia
16 years ago
I have always (30 yrs) grown Kentucky Wonders. My father grew them when I was a child. I also grow a bean called Burpee Early Riser which became Kwintus which became Northeaster, as well as a couple of others like annelino (spelling?) Last year I finally tasted each bean raw and decided I really like the Kentucky wonder best. I've never tried the Kentucky Blue, just saw it this year at Pinetree, and might try some. I also noticed last year that the Kentucky Wonders were favored by the Jap. beetles.
They ate those leaves before going to the other beans. I now want to know if the Kent. Blues are also preferred or if (hopefully) the beetles might not like them as well.
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digdirt2
16 years ago
If I had to pick one of those 2 it would be Wonders - very dependable and productive. But consider Fortex it's OP 60 days with better color, great production, longer pods, superb taste. Beats both the Kentucky's IMHO.

Dave
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Bless you, kroach. This is your lucky day. I hope you picked the beans. If they are the thickness of a pencil, you are just fine. How to cook them? 1. snap them into 1 1/2 inch pieces. 2. put them in a pot with about two inches of water. 3. slice in some onion; add salt and pepper. 4. toss in a couple of slices of bacon or some pieces of ham 5. Let simmer uncovered until the beans are done to your liking. Watch the water, don't let it evaporate, but don't cover them either or you'll lose the pretty green color. Don't boil them to death or you'll get mush and lose all the vitamins. I've been using those microwave steam bags and they work real well too. That's another way to cook them. I just know others will have new ways for you too. Good luck!
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Maybe mine need N. I didn't manure that row - though the Cherokee Wax bush beans at the end of that row (trellis doesn't go the whole length) are very lush. Pity since we really liked the taste of the bush BL last year so I thought I'd try the pole to get more production this year. Hope mine fill in too! Maybe yours got too much N? Have you got a lot of flowers? Sorry you said Kentucky Blue not Wonder - I was reading and posting on my phone last night and didn't catch that.
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alisande I love pole beans, too, and am still learning a lot about them. As for "branching out" so to speak, I'd recommend Fortex snaps, a pole bean that is really wonderful. You can find them at Vermont Bean Seed Company and Johnny's Seeds. These are only two but there are other vendors that others here can recommend if you want some unique beans. You don't say HOW far you want to branch out, but if you read the posts here (just scroll down a couple of pages), you'll see there are many kinds of pole beans that people swear by. I'm growing only Fortex green beans, Italian green beans, and limas, along with cowpeas this year, an old Southern favorite. My repertoire is not terribly exciting to those whose tastes and experience are more extensive, but these are the beans we really love, and my entire bean crop failed last year, what with the weather and the deer. I'll probably expand my list next year and include rattlesnake beans, which lots of people say is great! One piece of advice. The pole bean mavens on this forum say that the traditional spacing for beans recommended by vendors is WAY too crowded to get great production. You'll probably be surprised at the recommended spacing these experienced folks suggest. Anyway, enjoy your exploration into new pole bean territory!
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Diane, You're welcome. Yes it is fiction but it is based on the drought that hit the Great Plains from approx. 1949 through 1957. During that period of time, rainfall averaged less than 40% of usual and many cattle ranchers were driven out of business. In one year in the 1950s, Lubbock, Texas, recorded no rainfall. So, the conditions were not unlike the Dust Bowl days although by the late 1940s the Soil Conservation Service had put many programs into place that prevented, largely, a repeat of the dust storms of the Dust Bowl years. I believe Mr. Kelton wrote this incredible book to put a human face on the suffering of the Texas ranchers during that time, when many of them were driven out of the cattle business. It was because of the 1950s drought that Texas embarked upon an ambitious program to build reservoirs so they could stockpile water to avoid a recurrence of the Dust Bowl Years and the 1950 Drought years. When you read "The Time It Never Rained", you can just put yourself in Charlie Flagg's shoes and imagine how horrible it was to not even be able to feed your cattle or sheep and, eventually, yourself and your family. For Charlie, there were some things more important than 'saving the ranch at any cost'. He wanted to do things his way and maintain his independence. He didn't want to take a 'handout' from the government and he didn't want the government telling him what to do or how to do it. He just flat didn't want to compromise his own principles. That's part of what makes the book so fascinating---it wasn't just a struggle with nature, but an internal struggle to stay true to what he believed in. I had relatives who farmed and ranched in Texas in the 1950s and 1960s and they thought Elmer Kelton captured the reality on paper so well. "The Time It Never Rained" is a great classic western tale and it is one of the reasons the Western Writers of America named Elmer Kelton the greatest western writer of all time. For as hard as times are now, this novel is just such a chilling representation of one fictional man's life during some incredibly hard times, and that's why I like it. It reminds me how easy we have it much of the time, and it reminds me that when you make your living from the land, it can be a hard life with, perhaps, more downs than ups. Can you tell I love this book? Dawn
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justaguy2
16 years ago
I am with Dave (digdirt) on this one. Given the choice between the 2 Kentuckys, it's Wonder.

Fortex though kicks the snot out of both in many ways.

Everything Dave listed is true in my experience, but if you get lazy in the dog days of summer and leave the beans on the vine a bit too long Fortex is much more forgiving staying tender and stringless much longer than either Kentucky.

Think of the Kentucky beans as tried and true classics worth growing, but Fortex being a much improved green pole bean.
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sowbusy7nc
16 years ago
Kentucky Wonder is my tried and true grow every year bean but I also grow Blue Lake Pole which has done just as good and is stringless.
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booberry85
Original Author
16 years ago
I love Blue Lake bush beans. I've grown them the past few years. This year, for bush beans, I'm going to try a mix of heirloom bush beans I got in a swap. I've never tried Blue Lake Pole beans before.
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farmerdilla
16 years ago
booberry as you have probably gathered by now, you almost have to try each cultivar for yourself. The brown seeded Kentucky wonder has been around since the 19th century and remain popular. Newer versions of Kentucky Wonder have been released. Kentucky Blue is a cross between Kentucky Wonder and OSU 4911 by Novartis around 1990. It was a AAS winner in 19991. It is patented (PVP) so you can save seeds for your own use, but it is illegal to sell them.
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kayhh
16 years ago
Kentucky Blues are my staple beans. They have great flavor, stringless, and they are very reliable growers. I pickled them last year and after 6 months in the brine they are still crisp and crunchy.
Kay.
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Kentucky Blue or Kentucky Wonder

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corapegia

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Kentucky Blue or Kentucky Wonder

Comments (7)

corapegia

digdirt2

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justaguy2

sowbusy7nc

booberry85Original Author

farmerdilla

kayhh

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