Preserving Food, Canning, Green Beans

The two most popular varieties of green beans are bush green beans and pole green beans. My favorite green beans are pole green beans. I take long bamboo poles and I build teepee frames out of the bamboo poles and I grow my blue lakes pole beans on the bamboo teepee frames. I plant my pole beans in rich soil that I have added really well rotted manure to. I do this before I set up the bamboo teepees and plant the pole beans all the way around the teepee. When my pole beans come up they grow up and over the bamboo teepees and as the vines grow I tie the vines to the bamboo teepee to keep them on the teepee frame.

By the time the pole beans are grown over the frame and produce the pole beans I can pick the pole beans on the outside of the frames or go inside the teepee and pick the pole beans. If you prepare your soil and water your beans when they need it you'll have a nice large crop of pole beans. I suggest side dressing your pole beans with 5-10-5 fertilizer when you start seeing blooms on your beans. Apply the fertilizer around the base of the teepee but don't touch the plants with the fertilizer.

If you will CLICK HERE NOW you'll be able to find out everything you could ever want to know about growing green beans.

I always us a variety of pole beans called blue lakes pole beans and they produce nice long delicious beans that I think are some of the best tasting pole beans in the world. In case you don't know you can steam, boil, stir fry, and make green beans into delicious green bean casseroles. If you click that link you'll find a delicious recipe for green bean casserole. There's no reason you can't make and serve a delicious green bean casserole at any time of the year not just at the holidays.

A New Jazzed Up Kind Of Green Bean Casserole.

I have come up with one of the most delicious recipes for Green Bean Casserole that you will ever get to taste and it's really easy to make and so delicious. I guarantee you that it's delicious and quite different from your typical Green Bean Casserole. If you want the recipe just CLICK HERE NOW.

How To Cook Delicious Pole Beans Or Green Beans.

I like to cook my pole beans in the crock pot and when I do I usually fill a six quart crock pot almost full of beans and in that crock pot I put a teaspoon each of sugar, ground sea salt, and black pepper. I also add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pot. I cook the beans for eight hours on high and they are usually cooked to perfection in that time. I first fill the crock pot with the snapped and broken pole beans and then I fill it two thirds full with water and add in my other ingredients. I usually stir it about twice while they are cooking. I also sometimes peel a small sweet onion and cut it in half and add it to the crock pot but not always. Some people add a teaspoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Steamed Green Beans

I recently bought a bamboo steamer to use with my wok and one of the first things I started to cook in it was green beans. A friend of mine showed me how to cook green bean bundles in the steamer and they are wonderful. And easy to make. And the really good thing is that when you steam your vegetables all the good nutritional benefits are still there for you. And we all know that you should try to eat everything you can that is good for you.

Make Green Bean Bundles With Red Bell Peppers And Slivered Roasted Almonds.

You need green beans with just the ends broken off and you also need red bell peppers and liquid Italian Dressing. Clean your red bell peppers and then cut long thin strips of the bell pepper. Take 5-6 beans that you have just broke the ends off of and tie each small bundle of green beans with a red pepper strip. Place your green bean bundles in a plastic dish side by side. Pour Italian Dressing over the green bean bundles and put in the refrigerator for at least four hours. Then carefully transfer them to the steamer and steam them until done. You'll have some of the best green beans ever and everyone will love them. If you wish you can sprinkle them with roasted slivers of almond just before you take them out of the steamer.

I really love cooking in the steamer and everything cooked in it is healthy for you. And those green bean bundles are oh so delicious. Every time I make them and serve them people are just amazed at how they taste. And I bet you would to. The red bell pepper is also filled with antioxidants and are also very good for you and your health.

If you make any of the recipes on this Hub Page I really would like to hear from you how they turned out for you.

Have You Ever Grown Your Own Green Beans.

Have you ever grown your own green beans. I do all the time. I grow pole beans and really enjoy them. I don't think there is anything better than home canned green beans cooked during the middle of winter. They taste like they just came out of the garden. If you'll click that link just below you'll find all kinds of wonderful information on growing green beans. And when you grow your own green beans they are some of the most delicious green beans you'll ever eat. Until you grow your own you'll never realize how delicious they can be.

Click Here For Complete Details On Growing Green Beans

If you have space for 4-6 rows of green beans, a sunny location, and good loamy soil with a PH of 6.0 - 7.5 then you should grow green beans. If you have a little more room with space for about three sturdy bamboo pole teepees then you should plant pole beans or even yard long beans. Do a search online for yard long beans. And you know the really great thing about growing your own green beans. They are fresh and you won't find them anywhere else. They can only be found in your garden.

Always keep in mind that green beans and pole beans need a sunny spot to grow in. No they can't be grown in partial shade. If you choose to plant pole beans know that they will need sturdy support. The pole bean vines and the beans must be up on sturdy lines or teepee frames or they will fall down or get blown down in a thunderstorm. So be sure to keep that in mind when your preparing a place to plant your beans or pole beans.

When your planting your bean seeds either bush beans or pole beans they need to be planted in soil 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep. Follow the directions on the pack for how far apart they need to be spaced out. Beans will not transplant well so be sure to allow enough space between your beans when your planting them.

If your soil is on the heavy side you may want to add well rotted compost, well rotted manure, well rotted fall leaves or other organic material to the soil and work it in very well with your garden tiller. If you don't have one now might be a good time to purchase a soil test kit so you can test the PH of your soil.

I like to raise both my bush green beans and pole beans in raised beds and I let the beans get up about 3 - 4 inches high and mulch them very heavily so no grass or weeds can't come up in them. If you'll do your beans the same way you won't have to worry about weeds or grass in your beans.

The Best Pole Beans You Will Ever Eat

1. 2 Pounds Green Beans Snapped And Washed Well Under Cold Running Water.

2. 1/2 Pound Fatback Or Lean Streaked Meat Cut Into Small Cubes.

3. 4 Large Potatoes Peeled And Cut Into Small Pieces.

4. 1 Small to Medium Sweet Onion Diced Very Fine.

5. Water To Cover.

6. Salt And Pepper To Taste.

You will want to cook your beans on the stove in a pot for about two hours until the beans and meat are both well done. Be sure to keep a eye on the water level to make sure the water doesn't get to low. This is the reason that green beans don't do well in a crock pot. These beans will be really delicious and should be cooked down until they have very little water left in them. You can make this recipe with regular green beans but it is just wonderful with pole beans.

If your planting pole beans you will need to grow them on supports up in the air like the bamboo teepees below. Just be sure that you fasten them very well at the top and bottom so they will not fall down easy. You need the bottom of your poles stuck down in the ground a good 6-8 inches so they will not blow down in a storm.

Green Beans really aren't that hard to grow. Just read the below instructions carefully and you can put up delicious green beans to enjoy during the coming winter.

Do you have a home canner and canning jars. If not just above there are some great ones.

How Many Green Beans Do I Need To Fill My Canning Jars?

You will find that 14 pounds of green beans will fill fill seven quart jars. It will take 9 pounds of green beans to fill 9 pint jars. This will give you some ideal of what you can expect. You need to prepare your green beans by washing them well and then you need to break the ends off and break your green beans up into small pieces. Be sure to check for strings on your beans and pick out and throw away any with bad spots.

You should know that when you process green beans they must be processed in a pressure canner or they will spoil. If you click that link there you'll find one of the nicest pressure canners you can ever buy. Be sure to check it out and if you buy it read the book and all the materials that come with it. Be sure you know exactly how it works and what you can do with it. This is very important.

What this means is that once we wash our green beans very well under cold running water were going to snap the ends off, remove the strings if we need to, and then break the green beans into small pieces.

Then you would pack each of your jars as full of green beans as you can get them. Remember these will be raw green beans and you'll have to cook them when you open them up. Once you get all your jars packed full of green beans.

Once you have the jars filled with green beans you'll want to pour boiling water into each jar and leave about an inch of free space at the top of each jar. Once the jars are filled with water take a plastic knife or wooden spoon handle and push it down in each jar to get rid of the air bubbles. You can see how to do this in the photo above.

How Much Salt Do I Put In.

Salt is not even really necessary but I add a teaspoon of salt to each quart of beans and I always use ground sea salt. It's better for you and I like the flavor better than regular table salt.

How Long Do I Keep My Cans Of Green Beans In The Pressure Canner.

Now you'll want to take a clean cotton cloth and wipe the rims of the jars clean and then put your jar lids on the jars. Put the rings on the jars and tighten them down. Put your jars in your pressure canner and process pints of green beans for 20 minutes and quarts for 25 minutes. By this you want to cook them under pressure for this amount of time.

Hot Pack Green Beans.

When you hot pack green beans you put your green beans into a pot and cover them with water. Bring them to a boil and cook them 10 minutes before you continue with the canning process. Process them for the same amount of cooking time under pressure as it says above.

Canning Dilly Green Beans

My Grandmother Hattie made these and they are delicious. If you like pickles you'll love these. I usually make these in pint jars and I usually fill my jars with long green beans that have not been broke up. I put the beans in the jars so they are up and down not sideways. You could make these out of broke up beans but I like them made with the long pieces of green beans.

Two pounds of green beans with the very ends broken off will fill four pint jars. Once you have your pint jars filled up with the beans put a teaspoon of minced fresh garlic and a few sprigs of fresh dill in each jar. Then add just a pinch of powdered cayenne pepper to each jar.

To a pot add 3 cups water and 3 cups vinegar and 2 tablespoons of ground sea salt. Bring it to a boil and then carefully fill each pint jar of beans with the vinegar and water solution. Leave about a half inch at the top of the jar. Wipe the rims of the jars and then put your lids and rings on.

Now process your pint jars of dilly beans for 20 minutes under pressure and you'll end up with delicious dilly beans to enjoy next winter.

I just simply love these and so does everyone I've ever made a jar for. I eat them right out of the jar but some people do put them on and cook them.

If you do make any of the recipes on this Hub Page please post a comment and let me know how everything turned out for you. If you have any questions feel free to ask them below in the comment section. I appreciate you being here and reading my Hub Page on Canning Green Beans.