Blue lake turning to string bean

[fireman57]

For the last 2 years my blue lake bush beans have at least 60% turn into runner string beans. Has the strain been compromised somehow? I have tried three different suppliers and they are all doing the same thing. Very frustrating as even after snapping them and removing the string from both sides they still have strings in them when you eat them. Anyone else having this problem?

 

[Meadowlark]

Yes, I have also noticed that. My spring crop had a lot of strings. It is very interesting that you had them also. Maybe it has been compromised.

I'm planting a fall crop of pole beans and hopefully it won't have strings.

 

[fireman57]

I don't care for Ky wonder but might have to plant them. Talked to a lot of people that have the same problem we are having from different parts of the country

 

[Meadowlark]

I had the problem also on the cross Kentucky x Blue Lake. This fall I'm going with some different pole green beans including Burpee's stringless, Logan Giant, and Rattlesnake and see how those turn out.

 

[fireman57]

Hope they work. Not a fan of pole beans but the bush bean choices are fairly limited

 

[Meadowlark]

My increasing preference for pole beans is directly proportional to my increasing age.

 

[fireman57]

Totally understand as we are both 66

 

[Heirloom farmer1969]

Jade stringless bush beans are my favorite for taste and they produce really well for a bush bean.

 

[fireman57]

Thanks. I will see if I can find some.

 

[Meadowlark]

The Blue Lake bush bean from fall/winter was really good...no strings attached. Hoping whatever the problem was is behind us now.

I'm planting mostly Blue Lake bush this spring with a few Blue Lake pole beans for our fresh green beans.

Pintos, Navy, Bingo, etc. for shelling beans.

 

[Ruderunner]

We had some problems with stringy blue lake a couple years ago. At the time I wrote it off to getting seeds from 2 different brands. It was about every other plant doing it.

 

[Meadowlark]

It seemed too widespread to write it off. We couldn't even eat the canned beans that year so stringy.

 

[Ruderunner]

Yeah we had the same problem. I just hadn't heard anyone else mention it so I figured it was just us.

We're not picky on variety but strings are a pita. When we had the mother in law here, we'd set her up to watch TV and cut the beans for canning.

 

[YumYum]

I typically have several beans out of the bushel that have some strings. I think the "string" gene is hiding in their dna. If you save the seed, break them like you do string beans and if there is a string, discard those beans for seed.

 

[cpp gardener]

More genetic than environmental.