For the first time ever I actually got every bean to mature on the pole beans. The plants finished flowering at least a couple of weeks ago and the last of the beans filled out and was picked today. The plants are now in the composter. Not really sure why they did so well this year, I guess the September heat made up for the slow start in June.

I think your limitations in space warrant you starting with pole beans. The above postings are right in that everyone has their own taste. I started with strictly pole beans & have some experience with them. "Emerite" is the best pole filet bean, yields are very good and early in my northeast PA garden (get from Pinetree Garden Seeds). I also like the purple-pdded varietes, and have great luck with "Trionfo Violetto" (get them from Pinetree Garden Seeds). I am also heavy shell bean grower/eater. I grow "Wren's Egg" (from Heirloom Seeds), "True Cranberry" (from Seed Savers Exchange), and when i can find them cannellini and borlotto pole beans (Gourmet Seeds International). I also grow bush beans for shelling & drying, "Dutch Brown", "Flagrano" flageolet (the most tasty shell bean in my opinion), and "Black Turtle" beans, which have amazing yields for cuban black bean soup. For recipes, see the thread here called "How do you cook your beans?" Folks have posted some nice ones there. Well this should get you going. Happy gardening! Here is a link that might be useful: Pinetree Garden Seeds, perfect for small gardens

Another update: I've been harvesting pods from my August 31 planting of Genuine Cornfield Beans for about ten days now. (I emailed the person I swapped with and she said that's how they were labeled in the bulk bin at her feed store.) The production is much lower than in the spring, but so is the level of light the plants are getting. They're currently getting NO direct sun at all. They get some dappled sun and indirect sun for a couple of hours, and then quite a bit of shade. The fact that they're making enough beans for me to harvest and make meals out of is good enough for me. If you have a patch of the garden that you think would be too shady for most vegetables, I think this might be a good thing to try.

For pole dry beans: Brita's Foot Long (white seeded, similar to Great Northern in size) Dolloff (a New England native) some of the pole Cranberry beans I have also grown several heirlooms with high dry seed yields. Striped Cornfield is a cranberry type, with nearly round seeds packed tightly in short pods. Sargas has seeds that start out golden yellow, and darken to orange-brown. Bosnian Pole has a high yield whether used as Romano-type snaps, or as dry beans. Under good conditions, any of the above should produce about 2 pounds from an eight foot row. Some pole snap beans can also produce large amounts of seed if let go (such as the KY Wonder) but the taste & texture can vary from good, to bland, to unpleasant. KY Wonder White (a.k.a. Pole 191) is a snap whose seeds are plentiful & nearly indistinguishable from Brita's Foot Long, but inferior in flavor.