Bean Mascotte
* Common name: Bean Mascotte
The stringless pods of Mascotte are slender and plentiful.
* Botanical name: Phaseolus vulgaris Mascotte
* What it is: Most bush green beans are stringless and easy to grow these days, but Mascotte stands out for its heavy yield of slender, tender, green, five-inch-long pods that also have excellent flavor and very good disease resistance. Abundant white flowers look nice just before the pods form.
Performed well enough in national testing that it won a 2014 All-America Selections award.
* Size: Compact plants grow only 14 to 16 inches tall. Plant seeds three inches apart. Plants don’t need staking.
* Where to use: Mainly vegetable gardens, but the compact habit makes them good choices for growing in containers or straw bales.
* Care: Plant seed directly in garden starting in early May and then every two weeks through July for a continuous harvest into early fall. Mature pods are ready to pick about 50 days after seeding.
Work compost into soil at planting. Keep soil consistently damp. Supplemental fertilizer usually not needed.
* Great partner: Beans are best planted in a mass by themselves. But since they add nitrogen to the soil, they’re ideally followed by nitrogen-using leafy crops, such as lettuce, chard, collards, kale, or fall cabbage.