Plant Finder

Other Names:  Snake Bean, Chinese Long Bean

Description:

A beautiful variety that produces green foliage and 18 inch long bean pods; heat and humidity tolerant, best to stagger plantings to ensure harvests all season long; stringless with a nutty flavor, perfect for fresh eating, stir frys, canning and freezing

Edible Qualities

Asparagus Long Bean is an annual vegetable plant that is commonly grown for its edible qualities. It produces large green long pods with a light green blush which are harvested from early summer to mid fall. The pods have a pleasant taste and a crisp texture.

The pods are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Eating When Cooked/Prepared
• Cooking
• Canning
• Freezing

Planting & Growing

Asparagus Long Bean will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 12 inches apart. Because of its vigorous growth habit, it may require staking or supplemental support. This fast-growing vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop. Because of its relatively short time to maturity, it lends itself to a series of successive plantings each staggered by a week or two; this will prolong the effective harvest period.

This plant is typically grown in a designated vegetable garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America, and it is considered by many to be an heirloom plant..

Asparagus Long Bean is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.