Green Beans

Abstract

In the early part of this century, 'Blue Lake' was the bean grown for canning in the Blue Lake District near Ukiah, California. In 1923, this variety arrived in Oregon, where much of the bean research has since been done. By 1952, western Oregon grew 10,000 acres of the beans, according to James Baggett, retired horticulture professor at Oregon State University in Corvallis. Early on, 'Blue Lake' beans were stringy, and some strains had colored seeds. But seed companies improved the bean and released new strains, and by the '50s, the only beans grown were stringless, white-seeded strains resistant to common bean mosaic. The current 'Blue Lake' is descended from developments by Ferry-Morse Seed Company.