Heirloom / Open Pollinated Yard Long Beans are heat loving beans. Sow 1-2″ deep, 6-12″ apart in full sun after danger of frost is past. Soaking Heirloom / Open Pollinated Bean Seeds in water 1-2 hours before planting speeds germination. Germination occurs in 5-7 days at 75-85°F. Provide support for Yard Long Bean plants to climb. Best harvested when pods have reached full length, but seeds have not swelled and matured, or before reaching full length (12-18″). However, overlooked pods can be used like dry beans in soups. The plants take longer to reach maturity than bush beans, but once producing, the beans are quick-growing and daily checking/harvesting is often a necessity. The plants produce beans until frost.

Yard Long Beans are a good source of protein, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, iron, phosphorus, and potassium, and a very good source for vitamin C, folate, magnesium, and manganese. Yardlong bean, a true legume, enriches the soil by fixing atmospheric nitrogen in nodules on its roots.  With the help of nitrogen fixing bacteria, the plant makes its own food.