Cherokee Yellow Wax Beans Growing Guide

Yellow wax Cherokee beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are a delightful addition to any home garden, offering a unique twist on the traditional green bean. These standard, black-seeded bush beans are known for their long, waxy yellow pods and relatively quick production time. This comprehensive guide will provide you with all the information and tips you need to successfully grow Cherokee wax beans in your garden.

What are Cherokee Yellow Wax Beans?

Cherokee wax beans are warm-season annuals that produce five to six-inch (12-15 cm) long yellow pods on 18-inch (46 cm) tall bushes. These beans are incredibly versatile and can be enjoyed fresh, frozen, or canned. One of the most appealing aspects of Cherokee wax beans is their rapid growth, with harvests ready in just over 50 days after germination. Additionally, they offer a generous crop that continues to produce for two weeks or more.

Planting Cherokee Wax Beans

Growing Cherokee wax beans is a straightforward process, similar to cultivating other bean varieties. Here’s a step-by-step guide to planting these beans:

1. Location: Choose a location in your garden that receives full sun. Beans prefer at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily for optimal growth.
2. Soil Temperature: Ensure the soil temperature is consistently around 60 degrees F (16 C) before planting. Use black plastic to raise the soil temperature sooner in the spring season. Good drainage is essential, so avoid planting in soggy or cold soil, as this can hinder germination. Planting in raised rows can temporarily improve drainage. The preferred soil pH is about 5.8 to 6.5.
3. Direct Sowing: Direct sow the seeds into the garden. There is no need to start them indoors, as they do not transplant well.
4. Spacing: Plant the seeds one inch deep (2.5 cm) and two inches apart (5 cm), with rows spaced about 24 inches apart (61 cm).
5. Germination: Expect the yellow wax Cherokee beans to germinate in ten days or less.
6. Thinning: Once the seedlings emerge, thin them to one plant every four inches to ensure each plant has enough space to grow.

Caring for Cherokee Wax Beans

Proper care is essential for a bountiful harvest. Here’s how to keep your Cherokee wax bean plants thriving:

1. Watering: Consistent irrigation is crucial. Water the bean plants with about one inch of water per week. It is especially important to keep the soil moist during flowering, as dry soil can cause the flowers to drop, reducing your yield. Avoid wetting the leaves when irrigating to prevent disease.
2. Fertilizing: Cherokee bush beans don’t require enriched soil, but a general-purpose fertilizer can boost your yield. Scatter ½ cup of fertilizer per ten feet (3 m) of row between the rows after the plants begin to flower and set beans. Water the plants after fertilizing. Before planting, dig in some rich compost or a light application of a balanced organic plant food. To replenish this plant's nutrients, repot your Cherokee Yellow Wax Beans after it doubles in size or once a year-whichever comes first.
3. Support: These bean plants are bush beans and do not need supports. They typically grow to be between 16 and 18 inches (41-46 cm) tall.
4. Weeding: Be careful when weeding. Once the beans are 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm.) tall, mulch with grass or straw to prevent competition from weeds. Strips of cloth mulch retain moisture and suppress weeds between rows of wax beans.
5. Light: Cherokee Yellow Wax Beans requires abundant, bright and direct light. Place it less than one foot from a window to ensure it receives enough light to survive 💪.

Harvesting Cherokee Wax Beans

Harvesting at the right time is key to enjoying the best flavor and ensuring continued production.

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1. Timing: Pick the beans before the pods fill out completely. The pods should still snap crisply when bent.
2. Frequency: Harvest mature beans regularly to keep your plants producing. If you harvest beans at the right time, the plants will continue producing for several weeks. Plan to pick every other day once the beans start ripening, and expect a harvest window of about three weeks. When production falls off, replace the beans with fast-growing salad greens or another fall crop.
3. Successive Planting: To extend your harvesting period, consider successive planting. Plant a new batch of beans every 2 to 3 weeks, especially with bush bean varieties, as they tend to mature all at once.

Managing Pests and Diseases

While Cherokee wax beans are relatively easy to grow, they can be susceptible to certain pests and diseases:

1. Common Issues: Molds, bacterial diseases, and wilt diseases are common, especially in wet weather, heat, and humidity. Spots on leaves or bean pods may indicate a fungal issue, which can be treated with an approved fungicide. Always read and follow the label when using any pesticide. Most varieties of beans are susceptible to a variety of insects and rodents, most notably beetles. Rabbits can eat the tender new leaves. In high-risk settings, it’s best to stick with low-growing bushy varieties, which can be protected with cages or insect netting. Check often for signs of cutworms, which are notorious for chopping down bean seedlings at the soil line. Fill in row gaps with more seeds.
2. Overwatering: Overwatering and root rot are the most likely cause of problems in Cherokee Yellow Wax Beans, since they are sensitive to wet soil. The leaves may also appear to be curling or drooping.

Preparing and Storing Cherokee Wax Beans

Yellow wax beans are incredibly versatile in the kitchen.

1. Cooking: Cook them as you would any other green bean. Fresh yellow wax beans can be sautéed, steamed, or added to entrees. Use wax beans freely in soups, casseroles, and any dish involving penne pasta. Better than potatoes, the juicy morsels explode with summer flavor.
2. Preserving: Freezing wax beans is a great way to preserve them. Blanch the beans in a small steamer for about four minutes to improve their color, texture, and nutrition. Cool the steamed beans, spread them out on cookie sheets, and freeze them. Once frozen hard, transfer them to freezer-safe containers.
3. Storing Fresh Beans: Store fresh beans in plastic bags or other containers in the refrigerator. They can typically be stored for about a week.

The Unique Appeal of Yellow Wax Beans

Yellow wax beans offer a unique appeal that sets them apart from traditional green beans:

1. Flavor: Yellow wax bean varieties have a mellower flavor compared to green beans.
2. Visual Appeal: Their bright yellow color makes them stand out in the garden and on the plate. Maturing in only six weeks, wax beans are easier to pick compared to green snap beans because the ripe pods stand out among the green foliage.
3. Versatility: Any green bean recipe can be adapted for yellow wax beans.

Varieties of Yellow Wax Beans

While Cherokee Wax is a classic variety, there are other yellow wax bean options to explore:

1. Bush Varieties: 'Bush Blue Lake', 'Contender', ‘Roma II’, ‘Provider’, and ‘Cherokee Wax’ are excellent snap varieties. Gold Rush, Capitano, a heavy-yielding bush Romano with flat yellow pods
2. Pole Varieties: Monte Gusto, Kentucky Wonder Wax, delicate Borsolino filet beans for stir fries or refrigerator pickles.

Historical Context

The wax bean’s history is a tale of global travel. From its origins in Central America, the tender, yellow-podded snap beans traveled to Algeria and then to France in the 1840s. Recipes for baking wax beans covered with buttered breadcrumbs began appearing on French menus in the late 1800s. In Hungary, wax beans became a summer garden favorite, used to make Zöldbabfőzelék, a creamy soup accented with paprika. By the 1920s, plant breeders had crossed the old Black Wax variety with other types of green beans.

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