Harvesting Rattlesnake Pole Beans

Rattlesnake Pole beans are an heirloom bean that I always plant and it grows great, climbing its way up to the very top of a 10 foot tall trellis I have made out of concrete reinforcement wire.  This is a very easy bean to grow.  With average rainfall, you'll be picking beans every other day.  The only problem is trying to reach the beans that grow up on the very top of the vine.

Rattlesnake Pole Beans

I've looked and can't seem to find why they are called rattlesnake pole beans.  Maybe the pointed end of the bean resembles the rattle on the end of a rattlesnake's tail?

A couple of beans ready to pick

They make a lot of foliage, so you've really got to look closely when harvesting or you'll miss some.  We've found that if you let them get too large, they get 'stringy,' but in that case, you can always dry them and use them for seed for next year.

Here's a little 'mess' of beans that we picked for lunch.  We'll cook 'em with some new potatoes and butter and there won't be much left for supper.

A mess of beans for lunch

We usually wash them and then snap off both ends and cook them whole.

Purplish markings on Rattlesnake Pole Beans

Similar to the Dragon Tongue Beans that we grow, Rattlesnake Pole Beans lose their purple markings when you cook them.  I was blanching two quarts of beans today and took a picture to show you how they change from green with purple stripes, to just a bright green color when heated.

Blanched Rattlesnakes

To blanch them, I drop them in boiling water and leave them for exactly 3 minutes before removing them to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.  Then I'll put them in a labeled quart size freezer bag and pop them into the freezer and we'll be able to enjoy them long after the season is over.