Your beans might have curly top virus--the virus causes leaves to pucker and curl. The virus has no cure and is spread by leafhoppers. If only a few leaves are affected you can pinch them out; if the whole plant is stunted, best to begin again. Here's a link to bean problems, includes curly top: http://www.harvestwizard.com/2009/05/bean_growing_problems_troubles.html Here is a link that might be useful: HarvestToTable.com

Yes, that's correct. Give those limas as much distance as you possibly can. Another thing which may help is to actually use other beans as barriers. For instance, you could plant Insuk's Wang Kong between the regular beans or limas, adding a little more protection. I've grown limas for well over 20 years and never had a single cross. But then, sometimes I only grow one variety in a given year. Other times I've given them all the distance I could, besides surrounding them with another species of bean. The only time I've had a cross between regular beans (vulgaris varieties) was early on when I didn't know enough, and I planted them together. George Tahlequah, OK PS. Here's an interesting anecdote. The first year I grew Flossie Powell Pole lima, we were in a region in Mexico where limas were unknown. It was my only lima that year. So I calculated that I had approximately 50 miles of isolation distance!

Thanks. The description on the Supernano Marconi Gold sounds interesting -- a yellow, half-runner, Romano would be an excellent addition to my bean selection. I'm happy with the current yellow and purple bush beans -- Dragon Langerie is the bean I plant when I can only grow one and Royal Burgundy Purple Pod is a definite improvement on the old Royalty Purple Pod for my purposes (which may not be anyone else's purposes so anyone inclined towards purple beans should try both). So its the pole and half-runner types in yellow and purple that I'm wondering about. As for the cowpeas, I won't say that you couldn't pay me to eat beans in the shell stage, but it wouldn't come cheap. ;-) :-D LOL I've never enjoyed limas, shell beans, or any form of dry bean except lentils and garbanzos. Are there any particular cowpea varieties that are better as snap beans than others? I'm enjoying learning to grow the heat-loving veggies I've never had before.

Thanks Gary. What do you mean by headless plants? How did they get headless? Last year we had a drought, but I watered every other day. But....the high temps really wrecked my beans. I think I got just a couple handfulls out of a bunch of vines. The cucs and the tomatoes did great though. This year, my pole kentucky blue beans started producing a couple weeks ago. But my Blue lake barely have any blossoms. I hope they're just late. I think another mistake I made was over-planting. I'm always afraid some won't sprout.......then they all do, and I don't have the heart to thin them. But I think it robs them to have too many. Also, some of them didn't vine well and are creating a shelter at the bottom of the trellises for mice. :( Next year, I'll try to be strong, and not over-plant. :) Thanks again.