Maybe a few comments. Tennesee has lots of climates, Memphis is a lot different from Nash ville as an example. Most pole beans grow well in East Tennesse, sothwestern can be quite hot and humid. The Appalchian region is great for beans and many of the heritage varieties originated in the area.

Lima beans. Baby limas have adifferent flavor than the giant limas. Christmas/Calico is one of more prolific giant limas. King of the Garden is the standard for whites. Whether you prefer shellies or dried beans is a matter of taste. Shellies are harvested when the beans are full size and pods are leathery and easy to open. For Dry beans the pods are allowed to dry on the plants, harvested, dried some more, and then shelled. They usually grow in flushes with intervals between harvest.

This harvest photo shows a mix of shellies and dry.

Cowpeas come in all sizes colors and shape. Zippers have green shells that don't dramatically change colors like purple hull types. For shellies the pods will get lighter in color and be full of peas. Zippers are noted for easy shelling as shellies. If you let dry on the vine, they can then be used as dry peas. They are most desired as green shellies.

So shellies are not completely dry, in other words, they need to be consumed as they are shelled? LOL in my little world there are dry beans and green beans, this inbetween concept is very exciting. What goes into preparing the shellies? I imagine soaking isn't necessary. Is cooking time a lot shorter or do they need to be slow cooked as if you are cooking a dry bean that has been soaked? How are they typically eaten during the hot summer... again, only concept is green beans (cooked and chilled in a salad lol) and dry beans (chile, burritos, posole.... winter soups LOL).

With the christmas lima, if you are raising for dry beans, by allowing them to mature and dry on the plant, will yields be affected?

Yes, summer definitely took its toll on my good midwestern performers. I felt like my garden production came to a complete standstill all summer long and then revived itself in time to do a little something before chill set in. Not my idea of a summer garden and really hoping to be much more productive this summer!

I hope these aren't ridiculous questions!!

Yes shellies are mature but still green. Much like English peas which are normally used as shellies, but can also be used dried. Pea soup for example. Shellies are shelled out before the pod begins to dry and cooked or frozen immediately. Typically boiled with Butter or substitute seasoned with salt and pepper. Cowpeas usually have sanps ( immature green pods broken into short pieces) but are cooked the same as butterbeans (limas). Yes allowing the pods to dry on the plant will reduce the yield some but thats normal for any dried bean or pea.

LOL I have seen the beans in the frozen veggie section and wasn't sure why you would freeze dried beans (they must have at least been cooked already. wink)... and was also a bit dumbfounded to find limited/no corn in the freezer section ;) during the holidays! (10 years in the midwest, native to CA). Excited to know what those frozen shellies are all about and going to give them a try! Thanks for explaining how to prepare!

Definitely want to try the christmas limas this summer as well as zipper peas.

Is there much of a flavor difference in the tn cutshort greasy vs. something like rattle snake? I'm curious to try a 'greasy' bean lol but I HAVE to put away some dilly beans this year. Rattle snake looks like it will be more content producing in the heat.

And btw, those flamingo beans look fascinating!! I wonder if my 8 yr old daughter will be more willing to eat pink beans over the green? lol

Thanks again for your help!!

tanya

Striped Bunch is a superb dilly bean.

The flavor of greasy beans is totally different from most commercial snap beans. Just keep in mind that most cutshorts are very low producers. Striped Hull Greasy is an excellent starter variety.

Give Emerite a try if you want to grow a very good modern bean.

Hmmm. I'm not into low producers. So maybe the greasy beans get moved to a different year to try. This year's garden needs to be about production :) I will definitely look at striped bunch and emerite. My garden bean googling seems to find most frequently that rattle snake is a heavy and a reliable producer in heat.

Thanks so much for your suggestions!!!