Going for Gold

My first harvest of beans were these delicious “French Gold” pole beans that I planted from seed in a raised bed on May 26. The green beans growing on the poles opposite the gold ones are not yet producing so it’s good to know for future seasons that these goldies will provide an earlier crop while waiting for the green beans. “French Gold” seeds can be found at Renee’s Garden.

First picking of French Gold pole beans

The leaves for these yellow beans look the same as those for green beans, but the flowers are a pretty purple instead of the usual white blossoms of the green ones.

French Gold bean blossom

Bean stalks twining on bamboo poles in a raised bed

With fresh beans straight from the garden you don’t need a heavy-handed preparation. Steamed till just crisp-tender then tossed with a smattering of homemade basil pesto, these gold beauties were a great reward for little effort.