Assuming that they are pole beans ( P.vulgaris), there are no hybrids sold commercially and they do not cross pollinate easily so you should be good to go, if the beans were mature when you picked them.

I agree with Farmerdilla. From what I understand, there are no hybrid bean cultivars, neither bush nor pole (Farmerdilla, do you know of any hybrid bush cultivars?), and they don't cross nearly as easily as something like squash, so you should be fine. If you want to continue to save seeds in the years to come, just make sure to only save the ones from plants and pods that look like the originals, and seeds that look like the originals as well, to avoid using seeds that did happen to be accidentally crossed. Wouldn't be a bad idea to plant them as far away from other beans as possible, too.

I successfully planted a new crop of pole beans this year from entirely saved seeds. Make sure they are well dried (ideally on the vine) and stored well (dry, cool). Contrary to knittlin, I save the seeds from interesting looking pods and isolate them for experiments next year. For instance, last year I didn't trellis five or six pole beans and they were more sprawling tangles than majestic beans. The seeds saved from some of those sprawlers produced a more bush-like growth this year. So instead of 6-7 foot pole bean vines, I got a four foot compact bush. Not sure if it is any better, but it is different, and that is how new varieties can be found after a few generations.

By all means if you have the room and the yen to do gardening experiments, and like the crossed beans, grow them out and save seeds from them. But if you want to keep the original strain pure, you need to keep those out of the strain's gene pool.

I'm going to try to save my last string beans for next year. They were Kentucky Wonder if I'm not mistaken and they were pole beans. I purposely didnt pick the last harvest so they are now still green, but eventually the pods will dry and turn light brownish right? Do I just pick them all off then and shell them into a ziploc? Can I keep them in the garage or should I keep them inside my house? My worse fear is that they wont work and I'll be out of a string bean crop next year b/c it will be too late in the season to go buy fresh packets.

I have never saved any seeds before except pumpkin seeds and they werent so successful. So I'm starting to learn how and what I could save.

Pick them before your first frost. If they aren't completely dry, place them in a dry, sheltered, warmish location and let them finish drying. Then, shell the into a paper bag and keep them in a dry, cool location.

Yep, Marial, let them dry very well before putting them in that ziploc, and I mean very well, 'til they're rock hard. AAMOF, drying well, then putting them in a paper envelope and into a glass jar with some rice would be better ~ the rice will soak up any excess moisture just in case. Then put the whole thing in the fridge. When you take it out, let it reach room temperature before opening to avoid moisture in the air condensing on the cold seeds.

Moisture and temperature fluctuations are the main enemies of seeds. If you can control those two things, your seeds will last a lot longer.

Marial1214, you can test your seeds' viability long before planting time rolls around. During the winter, count out 10 seeds (or more if you want...just remember to write down how many you start with)and plant them in seed starting mix indoors. If most germinate well, you can be confident they will grow in the garden. If only a small percentage grow, you will know you should buy some when they are available.

Actually, bean seed will sprout on a wet paper towel in a sandwich bag, which is easier and less messy than putting them in starting mix. Once the seed root emerges, you can open up the bag, keep the paper towel moist, and they'll grow a set of true leaves before running out of nutrients.

Beans now picked for drying. I transferred them to a cardboard flat and since they are piled upon each other, will turn them so they dont rot. Many are still green. Does it take more than a few weeks to dry them? They are inside the home.

Must I shell them to dry them or leave them in the green pods? Would that go faster if I shelled them?