Whether harvested fresh or dried, these beans are full of great heirloom flavor. Full Description

HEIRLOOM. Dark green and streaked with purple, the pretty and distinctive 7-8" pods are filled with light buff-colored seeds splashed with dark brown. Whether you harvest them as snap beans at about 60 days or as dry beans at about 90 days, you are assured excellent flavor. Vines, growing to 10', are drought-resistant. Your cache of Rattlesnake will take you from summer through winter with delicious hearty beans. First as a tender, refreshing edible podded bean, then later as a hearty, flavorful dried bean. Beautiful, 7 inch long, purple striped green beans appear on tall plants in summer. When pods are left on the plant to mature and dry, they reveal auburn and brown speckled seeds that are scrumptious in warming winter soups and stews POLE BEAN CULTURE: In the early days, pole beans were planted at the base of rough wooden poles where the vines clung to the bark as they twined upward. Today most gardeners grow pole beans on trellises. To make a trellis, stretch 2 wires between 2 stout posts. The first wire should be about 10 inches above the ground and the second wire at about 5-6 feet. Tie bean string to 1 wire and begin making a V-shaped trellis by zigzagging the string between the 2 wires and wrapping around each wire about every 8 inches. Rough string will stimulate the bean vine's twining habit. See Garden Supplies for bean string and other trellising supplies. Sow seeds along the bottom of the trellis, in rows 3-4 feet apart. If planting to grow on poles, plant 6 seeds at the base of each pole. Grow and fertilize like bush beans. HARVEST: Due to their continuous growth habit, pole beans are always at different stages of development. Keep the plants well picked to increase overall yields. A 15-20 foot row feeds a family of 4. Plant more for canning or freezing. SEED SPECS: Minimum germination standard: 80%. Usual seed life: 2-3 years.