Red Noodle Beans

The notion of planting Red Noodle beans can't really be taken seriously in my book. Sounds a bit like Jack and the Beanstalk. That was all I expected when I planted only half of the small packet I purchased from Johnny's Selected Seeds--just some entertainment.

The bean pods were said to be red in color and one yard long. Yeah, right.

I should have known something was up when I saw the size of the blossoms. They are about one half inch wide. This blossom was at the top of the vine, which had climbed four foot high at that point in time.

This is a close-up of a blossom that has been pollinated and was starting to lose some of its white petals. You can see the beginning of the two bean pods that are just forming. They are the green curls sticking out from the right and left sides of the blossom.

It only takes those little curls about and week and a half to grow into these long, red pods.

This one was kind of interesting. It threaded itself through the wire trellis. Then a vine wrapped itself around the bean pod. The pod is not really one yard long. Probably closer to two feet--but still pretty darn long. 

 This is my first harvest, which I picked just yesterday. There will be much more to come if the weather holds out. Not bad for a half a pack of bean seeds called Red Noodle, huh? The pods don't really look like they will taste particularly good, especially the ones that were left on the vine for more than a week. The beans inside are tasty though. Sort of the size and shape of black-eye peas, but a little sweeter. I will just shell them and use them that way. As a reference point as to how long these pods have grown----the bowl is about ten inches across. And for some reason, Blogger insists upon flipping this picture.