< eating steamed green and purple beans from the garden.

[HopeHoops]

No butter. No spices. No anything - just the beans. Yum.

[Curmudgeoness]

1. Oh, god, wish I was there!

I love purple beans, although I am new to them. I tried them for the first time this year and I just have to figure out a way to find room to grow some next year. They were so tasty and mild. And I just bought them because they were some strange looking.

The only thing that bummed me out was that they turned green when they were cooked. But they still have a distinct taste.

What purple bean did you grow? Where did you get it?

[HopeHoops]

3. I got them from Johnny's Selected Seeds (mail-order), but I forget the variety.

It was one of the bush types. The rabbits love to munch on the leaves, but we still got some. We grew a bunch of plants in pots on the porch. I love them raw in a salad - great color. We also grew a purple variety of cherry tomatoes. We got GALLONS of them (and more are still coming). Our largest tomato plant is a Sweet 100 volunteer that sprouted from the compost bin and has eaten a quarter of the porch and about an 8' radius from the base in the yard. Good shit, Maynard!

Oh, and I wouldn't have let you in. There were barely enough for us and that includes going back for seconds.

I grew the vine variety in NH (1'x16' run of posts and string). They did very well there. I do bush here because they're easier to control. The yield is lower per plant, but they don't block the sun from everything else. We also grow purple potatoes most years (weren't available this year, failed seed crop). They make beautiful mashed potatoes. This year we went with a larger variety of high-yield creamer style. They're ready to dig. I'm just waiting for my youngest to come visit. She LOVES the annual harvest.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. I love those purple beans

I didn't even bother planting greens this year. The grandson thinks it's cool how they turn green when they cook, like magic. he still won't eat them though