Green Beans; how do you know when they are ripe?

[Marie Stine]

I planted some bush type green beans this year, ( I think that's what they are called, they are not the pole runner type). The beans are now a good size but I am not sure how to tell if they are ripe for picking. I picked one off and snapped it but it didn't snap crisply. I haven't had fresh green beans since I was a kid and I just don't remember how to tell if they are ripe.

 

[headfullofbees]

As soon as they're big enough to be worth eating, pick them.
The younger the better.

 

[Marie Stine]

Ok thanks! I think I have enough to make a couple of servings of green beans. Next year I will plant more and have a bigger garden.

 

[headfullofbees]

See, the thing is with green beans, we grow them to eat them before they're ripe.
If they were ripe, they'd be tough as old boots, and stringy as a string vest and would have beans inside.
That's why there's no hard, fast answer.
I pick my pole beans (runners) long before they are full length, because they're delicious like that, and I know that I'll get loads anyway.

 

[Chuck]

If they bend and don't snap you have left them a little too long but they are still good cooked. If they have become a little yellow in color or a lighter green they will be awful no matter how you cook them. You can basically tell when they at their prime is when you can see the outline of the beans inside, the pod is full and are easy to snap

 

[Whitewolf2578]

Well from my experience in growing them you want them I usually wait until they are about five inches or shorter long. I was having the same problem as you with not knowing when to pick them. They taste better when they are younger though. Just pick them before they start turning yellow! Unless they are that type.

 

[rz3300]

Well I like to hear the advice of just pick them when they look right. I would think that there is a little more to it than that, though, and I have had plenty of experience with green beans that I am pretty sure were not quite ready yet. I am not sure where the stringiness factor comes into play, but that is always my biggest complaint. Best of luck to you though.