Has anyone grown Royal Burgundy bush beans? How well did they grow / taste / can? We love our beans, and am planning on planting a 2 or 3 varieties this year, and these caught my eye.

-- Eric in TN (eric_m_stone@yahoo.com), January 23, 2001

Answers

I think they're the same as the purple pole beans we grew a year or so back - yummy! I turned the kids onto them by calling them "magic beans" - drop 'em in boiling water and they turn green as if by magic! Another additional benefit - When I use the purple beans to make pickled beans, they turn green in the jars when they're done in the boiling water canner, so I take the jars out and wait on the 'pop' that says the jars are sealed.

-- Judi (ddecaro@snet.net), January 23, 2001.

Eric, I planted those year before last and contender bush last year. ( because I heard they were so great ) I am going to plant the pole bean version of royal purple this year. I really liked those purple ones best of all. They are round instead of flat. Really tender and good. And are so easy to find on the bush. I know pole beans are more trouble in the beginning, but much easier on the back in the long run.And I like that they are so easy to spot.They turn green when they hit boiling water and everyone I gave them to liked them a lot.

-- Bonnie (josabo1@juno.com), January 23, 2001.

Yes, they were good. This year I canned my green, yellow, and purple beans altogether. They looked very pretty in the jars before cooking and then they turn green when they're cooked. They taste really good

-- (trigger@mcn.net), January 23, 2001.

I did for years and loved them...and I am a green bean addict!!! They are a little brighter in color when cooked than the regular green beans...

I liked them also cause they are easier to see when you are picking them and don't have as much *bush* as others

-- Lynette (fear_the_bear@webtv.net), January 23, 2001.

Yes Eric, I think they are a wonderful choice for a new bean to try. We have come to grow them every year for a few years now. Fun to have something a little different to share and they have a very nice, full bean taste. Gesh-that sounded like a wine review. Anyway, we liked and they canned nicely.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), January 23, 2001.

I'm going to go ahead and plant 'em! 8-) My biggest concern was that being a bush bean, they lost something somewhere and paled greatly compared to the pole beans.

-- Eric in TN (eric_m_stone@yahoo.com), January 23, 2001.

Absolutely NOT! I happen to think they taste better than the pole beans, and you have the advantage of more beans to can at once. By that I mean you don't have to can 1 jar at a time. By picking every 2 days I can get a full canner (7qt jars) done every 2 days. annette

-- annette (j_a_henry@yahoo.com), January 23, 2001.

I grew them very successfully a few years ago and sold them at the local farmer's market. I wasn't sure what type of reaction I would get from folks not accustomed to purple beans, but turned out they were a big seller!

-- Barb (rosemontfarm1@aol.com), January 23, 2001.