Gardening

Long, thin and green, best describes the Long Bean (Vigna Sesquipedalis) which is also known as Asparagus Bean, Chinese Long Bean, Garter Bean, Snake Bean (not the Snake Gourd), Yardlong Bean and also as Kacang Panjang in Malaysia and as Payathangai or Karamani in Tamil. This is from the legume family and it is a tropical plant grown in Southeastern Asia, Thailand, Southern China and also Malaysia. Long Bean is not a seasonal plant and therefore can be found year round. Apart from the green (which is common) there are other varieties such the pale green, short green(something like the French beans) and also somewhat in red. I have been only planting the slender darker green. Last week one of my friends gave me the seeds for the red variety, so will be planting this in the next season.

Like any other tropical plant, the Long Bean prefers high temperature and well drained soil. However this plant tolerates heat, low rainfall and arid soils. This is a climbing annual therefore requires trellis for support. I do not use any fancy trellis, mine is just few branches from the tree that grows at the nearby bushes near my home. This plant can grow as tall about 9 to 12 feet and it can climb all by itself, however with a little help from us, it does not get messy and tangled and this also ensures the fruits are visible and have more space for growth. The flowers are a little yellowish and some are violet blue. Bees and ants love the flower so you can see them busy with frequent visit to this plant.

The plant begins to produce after about 3 months sowing. The beans usually hang in pairs and these needs to be picked before it matures. Once it matures, you can still use the seeds for cooking, but my advice is to pick them when they are young. The young beans crunchy, sweet and are full of flavor once it is cooked. You can harvest these beans almost daily and you will never run out of supply. This is my favorite activity in the evening straight after I come back from work.

The only insects that I have seen in my long beans plants are ants and bees. But both have not damaged the plant nor the yield.But instead, have been very helpful for the pollinating purpose. The fertilizers that I use are the dried cow manure and once a month I use the chicken manure pellets. I also spray the neem oil added with the fruity soap base once in a while.

I left 1 long bean for seeds for future planting. The best way is to let it mature and dry on the branch itself, as shown in the picture above.

There are so many ways to cook these beans, both for the vegetarian and also for the non vegetarian. This can be stir fried, stewed, boiled, simmered, grilled and the list goes on. My younger daughter likes this fresh and straight from the branch, she claims herself to be the rabbit (Malaysian rabbit that takes long beans instead of carrot….) These beans are rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C protein, thiamin, riboflavin, iron, phosphorus, potassium, folate, magnesium and manganese. Wow, that is lots of nutrition, what else can you ask for……..

If you are looking for an Indian recipe to stir fry the green bean, please visit

http://5starchef.blogspot.com/2008/03/long-beans-pooriyal.html

Let’s go green.

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