Greasy Beans in the PNW

12 years ago

In the Pacific northwest we can have very fine and long summers as in 2009 or we can have cold and wet spring and early summer weather with a shorter growing season as in 2008, 2010 and 2011.

Greasy beans are generally grown in the southeastern part of the country and some of them are considered to be the finest quality snaps, at least by the people who grow them. So of course I had to see if they would do well here.

These beans were grown in the summers of 2010 and 2011 and some of each were started indoors in mid May.

Big Greasy is a very fine quality snap and it looks like I will be able to save some seed.

Black and White Greasy Mix was a very slow climber in our chilly spring and early summer this year. It produced its first blossom last week! Sorry George but I will not be able to help produce a black seed greasy bean.

Cutshort Greasy produced two different beans. One was not greasy and looked like Tobacco Worm and the other was a very small 3 inch greasy bean. No mature seed.

Grady Baily Greasy was a late bloomer. One vine produced purple blossoms fairly early but the green and purple pods were not greasy. Some vines with yellow and white blossoms produced non-greasy grean beans. Then this week I noticed one vine with some greasy snaps. It will not be possible to save seed.

North Carolina Speckled Long Greasy Cutshort is a very fine greasy and it was possible to save some seed in 2010 and possibly this year too.

Pink Tip Greasy was very late and produced into late October last year but no mature seed.

White Simpson Greasy is a fine quality greasy bean from 2005 SSE seed that produced early and it has more maturing pods than any of the others.

One interesting thing about some of these greasy beans is that the pods turn yellow and then they stay on the vine for weeks without drying out or getting leathery. They are still fine eating quality. To save seed I have to pick the yellow pods and dry them indoors.

Dick

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Comments (14)

aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
12 years ago
Dick, I bought 'Blue Greasy Grit' this year, it's on next year's grow list. I've never grown a greasy before so after reading though your list it looks like these beans need a long growing season in our climate, another one to start early in the greenhouse :).

To date which greasy is your favorite and what stage do you like to pick them for eating?

Annette
drloyd
Original Author
12 years ago
Annette, North Carolina Speckled Long Greasy Cutshort might be my favorite if it was easier to save seed. I have only two pods that are starting to turn a little yellow.

Big Greasy might be the choice if I could only grow one.

White Simpson Greasy matures earlier but the pods tend to come apart after they are unzipped and cooked. I plan to grow both of these two next year and save my North Carolina Speckled Long Greasy Cutshort seed for an El Nino summer.

They can be eaten at any stage. My DW prefers ordinary green beans so she likes them young. I like them when the seeds are developed and even after the pods turn yellow - shellies in the pod. I do not eat many that way because they need to be saved for seed.

Dick
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Dick, you are ahead of me this year, A couple of mine aren't even flowering yet probably due to that little heat wave we went through but if we have a decent fall I should manage to get seed. We've been eating Purple Italian Marconi Stringless and Mr. Tung's, have a few others at the edible stage (Grandpa Gerono's pink seed, turned out to be a wax bean), (Grandma Roberts Purple Pole,) (Selma Zebra) and (Royal City Cannery) but only have 3 or 4 plants in, they are designated for seed. The others are chugging along, a few more beans forming on the Andean/Ecuador vines and the new scarlet runner 'Aeron Purple Star' from Wales is starting to pop, lots of beans forming on the 4 plants I have in, apparently our little heat wave didn't bother them a bit. I'm going to grow this one in earnest next year. I direct seeded Woods Mountain Crazy beans in a little raised bed where I have a rosemary bush, these guys took off and now look like a small jungle I can see what people are saying about having to look under the leaves for the flowers and beans, it looks like a solid mat of leaves looking down on them. All told I now have 4 different (patterned seed coats) Andean beans growing in the greenhouse, only one is flowering so far, I'm hoping that if some of these are day length sensitive, being in the greenhouse when the days get shorter they'll flower and produce a few beans. I can give them a bit of heat at night if needed, time will tell :). Annette
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happyday
12 years ago
Where did you guys get all these greasies from? Bill Best?
aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
12 years ago
Happy, I ordered 'Blue Greasy Grit' from The Sample Seed Shop.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Sample Seed Shop
drloyd
Original Author
12 years ago
Happyday, Bill Best is a great source and I would consider Big Greasy from him.

I got my seeds from SSE trades. Alas, I have not been able to save extra seed yet. Just barely enough for planting. Only the plants on the end of a trellis where they get the most sun are able to ripen a few pods.

Dick
happyday
12 years ago
Dick, sounds like you need more room between your trellis so they all get full sun, or something.
drloyd
Original Author
12 years ago
Happyday the trellises are four feet apart. One problem was that we had record cold April and very cold May and June plus most of July.....

Dick
drloyd
Original Author
12 years ago
September has continued to cooperate for seed saving.

The North Carolina Speckled Long Greasy Cutshort pods are very plump and look like a greasy version of Tennessee Cutshort. Enough pods have turned soft so that there is seed for next year. I guess that would be my favorite. - Dick
aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
11 years ago
I'm going to try growing "North Carolina Speckled Long Greasy Cutshorts" this year, started early in the greenhouse they just might make it. Is this the same as one called "Carolina Greasy" which I just received in a trade. The seed looks similar but you know how that goes. The dark color of the seed on the left could be that they are just older but there also seems to be a slight difference in size.
drloyd
Original Author
11 years ago
Annette, the seeds on the right look like North Carolina Speckled Long Greasy Cutshort, tan with brown markings. - Dick
aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
11 years ago
Dick, yes they are I should have mentioned the ones on the left are the Carolina Greasy I received in trade.

Annette
drloyd
Original Author
11 years ago
Annette, I asked Bill Best on Facebook about some of his earliest beans and he gave me a list that included Doyce Chambers Greasy Cutshort as being among his very earliest:

"Doyce Chambers Greasy Cut-Short
Grown for many years by Doyce Chambers of Bethel in Haywood County, NC and long our best-selling greasy bean, this white-seeded bean is simply one of the best."

I have a packet and it is on my 2013 list. - Dick

This post was edited by drloyd on Sun, Jan 20, 13 at 10:36
zobot
10 years ago
North Carolina Speckled Long Greasy Cutshort are great.
drloyd
Original Author
10 years ago
Zobot they are a favorite of mine. They are a good choice for northern gardeners who want to try a greasy bean.

Greasy Beans in the PNW

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