What have done towards your prep?

[CharlesHarris]

MB can chime in, but here in West Virginia "Italian Pole Beans" were brought to America by Italian immigrants who came to work in the coal mines after the American Civil War. The most common variety is called "Romano," which is an old, Italian heirloom green bean, still grown in Cino (Lombardy Region) of Italy.

'Valena' is a similar, but hybrid (horticultural-type) pole bean that can be used young as a green bean, at the green shelling stage, or mature as a dry bean.

I prefer the older, original heirloom variety which is THE classic Italian bean! It tends to stay "flatter" longer before the seeds start filling out the pods. The plants reach six feet or taller and produce thick, flat, medium green, stringless pods that are three-quarters of an inch wide by about six inches long. They start to pod a few weeks earlier than the usual American "Blue Lake" variety in my garden. I like them for pickling because the thin profile pickles quickly. The beans will become mealy and fall apart if cooked too long, so I use a raw-pack method.

Romanos can get huge if left on the vine. I pick them when they are about a half-inch wide. Left on their own the vines reach eight feet easily and are very leafy, so it can be hard to find all of the beans. Luckily, a few overripe beans don't seem to slow the harvest any. The pods are best eaten when young, tender and before the seeds fully develop and the pods become fibrous. The seeds can be also used at the green shelling stage or allowed to remain on the plants until fully matured and harvested as a dry bean.

Were I to grow only one green bean, it would be Romanos.