I don't know since I've never canned beans except for Dilly Beans. I used larger beans for those since I didn't want them to get mushy. We prefer smaller ones (though not haricot vert) for freezing. I'd just try to keep them all around the same size (diameter) so that they cook evenly, I don't get that picky about lengths, if you can keep them about the same length too that's best but beans come in different lengths and I certainly wouldn't compost the ends of the longer ones, though it's less waste to cut them into 1-or 2-inch long pieces instead of 4- to 5-inch long and then have a bunch of short pieces left over. But 1/2 inch difference isn't going to matter.

Well, you know, we've only had the beans three times so far in the last 10 days or so. We can keep up with them at that pace, but I was just looking ahead in case I do have extras that I can keep till later in the year. I had heard of blanching, but I didn't quite remember. Let's see if I have it right. Throw the beans in boiling water for 1 1/2 minutes, take out and immerse in ice water, dry, and then put them in a ziplock bag. Try to take as much of the air out of the bag (Mary, interesting idea about the straw). Alternatively, I might try 'blanching' them in the microwave and then the rest as above. Is that right? Now I almost hope I have extras just to try this procedure out! Thank-you, everyone. P.S.- Carol, how do you make oven-roasted beans? Anna

Hi zeedman, hope everything is going well with you. Thanks again for the two kinds of "MN" cowpeas, they did wonderfully even with the bad growing season we had here. My project is making slow progress. I have more raw data to go through than I have time available. Much bigger project than I anticipated (as is usual for me). I thought it would be safer to have all my hard work on an offline computer so I acquired a second one that is dedicated just to the project. I linked a database to a spreadsheet. I settled on using the database for general information and I give every variety its own number. That number is referenced on the spreadsheet for further details and information. The spreadsheet offers a quick side-by-side comparison of varieties by using category checkmarks. Works pretty good. The thing is, the more time I spend and the more knowledge I acquire, the more obsessed I become. Beans sure are fascinating. A big problem is categorizing because of all the different terminologies and because many beans have multiple uses. The yellow/wax was one small issue, but there are more such as Romano beans versus flat beans, Lima (and Fava?) versus broad beans, French beans and filet beans, horticulturals and shellies, etc. Are cornfield beans distinctly different from typical pole beans or just regional terms for the same thing? Why are runner beans varieties of Phaseolus coccineus but 1/2 runner beans are varieties of Phaseolus vulgaris? That kind of confusing stuff. I am having to constantly go back into my "finished" data and correct errors or update information. Two steps forward, one step back. Second big problem is that I wanted a photo of each variety with beans set on as well as a photo of the dry seed beans. Not going to happen in my lifetime. ;-) Was such a distraction and time-killer that I dropped the whole idea for now. All in all I would say I am generally making progress, considering I only have time to work on it in the winter. I am a lot farther along now than when I last posted on this thread, but have a long way to go. I branched out into greasies, cutshorts, fall beans, teparies, tropical and subtropical beans, asian beans, foreign varieties available commercially, extinct varieties, etc. I also am working on cowpeas and soybeans just because I am so interested in them. When I get frustrated with the snap and dry beans I work on these categories instead. The biggest eye opener by far is how much duplicity is out there. I am convinced a great many varieties are actually the same ones with different names. I have come across seed companies and even growers and market sellers that arbitrarily change the names for selling purposes. Heck, I am even guilty. I got some bean seeds in a trade and the woman, an immigrant from eastern Europe, didn't know what they were so I named them after the nearest towns they came from in her homeland. What am I to do, call them "Unknown 1" and "Unknown 2" forever? I don't think what I did is quite as bad as changing a name to make a variety sound "cute" or make them more marketable, but the end result is confusion just the same. Finally, I hate to sound greedy, but I think this project may be worthy of publishing if I can get it finished, rather than free-sourcing it on the web. Several people I have shown it to have suggested looking into that possibility. Wasn't my original intention but because it is so complex I now feel I should try to get some kind of return on my investment of time and energy, if possible. This is nowhere on the priority lists, though, and if it ultimately doesn't happen it is no big deal to me. My personal collection is growing. With this year's orders and trades I am at well over 100 varieties of bush and pole snap and dry beans, asian beans, cowpeas, and soybeans. We have an informal little local club of hobby growers that are all interested in these so we coordinate and plant different varieties and swap seeds with each other. Pretty fun. Take care, -Tom I know it is improper to ask - wrong forum, wrong thread - but if anyone has any white wax beans would you be willing to part with a few seeds? I really want to acquire some. Thanks much.

I thought my Nugget wax beans were pretty yellow. You can see a pic on the linked thread. I am not sure if my pics do the color justice but I thought they turned out really yellow, especially after blanching. Here is a link that might be useful: Nugget Wax Bean Pics