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'Dragon Tongue' Beans

Sub-Category:	Bush Yellow (wax)

Sub-Category 2:
Description:	Heirloom. Bush yellow (wax) bean use snap or shelled. Dutch strain with stringless, flat, 5- to 8-inch, greenish-yellow pods with purple tiger stripes that turn green when cooked. Seeds are purple-blue with blue stripes. About 50-65 days to maturity. Also known as 'Dragon Langerie', 'Merveille de Piemonte', 'Meraviglia del Piemonte' and 'Dragon's Tongue'.
Days To Maturity:	50-65
Seed Sources:	Harris Seeds - updated in 2020 Seed Savers Exchange - updated in 2020 Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds - updated in 2020 Johnny's Selected Seeds - updated in 2020

Rating Summary

Overall: (4.0 Stars) Taste: (4.1 Stars) Yield: (4.2 Stars) Ease/Reliability: (4.3 Stars)

Reviews

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Number of Reviews: 24

KEY: O=Overall Rating, T=Taste, Y=Yield, E=Ease

Reviewed on 08/16/2021 by v_gardener - An intermediate gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Westchester, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days Soil Texture: Not Sure Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20') Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
The Dragon Tongue Bush bean variety is a new one in my garden this year, and is currently my favorite! I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the beans grew- it was my first bush bean variety to be ready for harvesting (I also grew Green Bean Tendergreen, Royal Burgundy, and Red Swan)- and how much of a harvest it could produce for me. It definitely yielded the most out of my bush bean varieties. Tastes great even when oversized, and turns a nice pale yellow when cooked. I loved cooking it with homegrown rosemary and a little bit of butter.

Reviewed on 02/11/2021 by CCE Nassau County NY - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Nassau, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 183 - 203 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Good vigorous plants. Good production and still producing flowers in September. A few leaves show disease or insect activity, but the bush beans look good overall.

Reviewed on 11/02/2020 by Marci Muller - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Monroe, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Beautiful to look at, but need to be harvested very young. They become tough in a short period - did not think to try them as a dry bean.

Reviewed on 10/16/2020 by Albany County MGs - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Albany, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Really like this bean, so pretty and tender. Germinated and grew well, would highly recommend.

Reviewed on 10/12/2020 by CCE Oneida County - An intermediate gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Oneida, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
Early in the season beans started growing and a deer came through and nipped off the tops of the Dragon Tongue Beans. We put up strings at various heights and placed Irish Spring soap around to repel the deer and it worked! The beans grew back and produced a good yield despite the hot, dry summer conditions. Water by drip irrigation.

Reviewed on 10/09/2020 by CarolK - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Erie, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Beans ripen very quickly proceeding from tender young pods to tough pods within days.\r\nGood both raw and cooked

Reviewed on 10/05/2020 by CCE Rockland - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Rockland, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20') Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
Vigorous bushy plant, good yield. Bean pods are wide, flat, and colorful: yellow with purple streaks. Turn yellow when cooked. Very tasty even when large.

Reviewed on 09/30/2020 by Food bank vvtg - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Erie, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 103 - 123 days Soil Texture: Not Sure Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
Not as tasty as other beans but grew well with no problems

Reviewed on 09/25/2020 by Tompkins MGs - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Tompkins, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20') Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
Very pretty mottled purple pods. Vigorous plant growth. Dry beans have good flavor and texture.

Reviewed on 09/24/2020 by Cutler Botanic Garden - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Broome, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Unusual. Attracted a lot of attention.

Reviewed on 09/02/2020 by nmeohen1 - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Cortland, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 103 - 123 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Easy to grow and shuck. Made for interesting conversation in soups!

Reviewed on 09/01/2020 by Jessica Holmes - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Warren, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Grew well, had a good crop, but turned green when cooked

Reviewed on 07/29/2020 by CCEYates - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Yates, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
These germinated well and grew nicely. The beans were good- they had a nice bean flavor but weren\'t particularly sweet when eaten raw. Quite tender while young and very pretty.

Reviewed on 11/30/2017 by CCE Rensselaer County - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Rensselaer, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Tried in a stir fry as a snap bean; didn\'t like. Better as shelled.

Reviewed on 10/12/2017 by Cutler Botanic Garden - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Broome, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Planted seed 6/27/17. Harvested as needed, good producer.

Reviewed on 09/05/2014 by sadie - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	All Counties, Ontario, Canada Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
I really enjoyed these. I liked the taste and texture. The beans don't look like regular snap beans, they are flatter and thicker. I expected them to have a tough texture but they don't. They are very tender and crunchy. My new favourite yellow bean.

1 of 1 gardener found this review helpful.

Reviewed on 12/31/2010 by emmers - An intermediate gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Morris, New Jersey, United States Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
A beautiful, easy to grow, plentiful, but unfortunately bland bean.

Reviewed on 08/14/2009 by a_hermit - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Tompkins, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
Seeds from Seed Saver's Exchange. Good-looking flat wax bean, yellow with purple striations, a few beans are predominately purple. Good taste but not excellent, very good texture, stringless even when large, I liked this bean even though I generally prefer round beans to the flat ones. Susceptible to Anthracnose, and this brought the rating down a little. These beans got it first (not visibly present from seed) and it spread around the garden, reducing the yield of the Dragon's tongue by 50% and the others by 10-25%. It has been a cool wet season. Good bean, will grow again. Purple bleaches out when cooked but not too bad when quickly blanched.

1 of 1 gardener found this review helpful.

Reviewed on 09/18/2008 by mogzilla - An intermediate gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Providence, Rhode Island, United States Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20') Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
VERY good yields and good taste for a wax bean. Only bug problem was the grashoppers moving in -- even though they ate the leaves, the plants still produced beans.

Reviewed on 08/07/2008 by mheide - An intermediate gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Jackson, Missouri, United States Frost Free Season: 103 - 123 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
These were very easy to grow. They did have a few bug issues, but it did not effect their yield and the bugs left the beans alone...they just ate the leaves. Very juicy and flavorful, the pods were stringless even when they were pretty large.

Reviewed on 07/31/2008 by Katxena - A novice gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Montgomery, Maryland, United States Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20') Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
These beans have done very well for me. They have yielded about three times more per plant than the other bush beans in my garden. They have been pest free and easy to grow. The pods have a hairy feeling to them that disappears upon cooking. The pretty purple tongues on the yellow pods also disappear when cooked.

1 of 1 gardener found this review helpful.

Reviewed on 08/11/2007 by tom howard - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Chenango, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 103 - 123 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40') Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
This is advertised as an easy-to-grow variety with a novel look. All very true. Its flavor is all right. Only grew it once, so perhaps it performs better than I'm giving it credit for, but I wasn't impressed.

Reviewed on 12/04/2006 by beanser - An intermediate gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Ohio, West Virginia, United States Frost Free Season: 103 - 123 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20') Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
nice bush bean produces a lot. The flavor was very good very tender and stringless even when large. would highly recomend

Reviewed on 12/17/2004 by Sal - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Michigan, United States Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
Great taste & yield. They got buggy the first year, I sprayed them with soap & they recovered. The second year, in a sunnier location, no bugs, no problem. The purple color fades to a solid yellow bean when cooked.

1 of 1 gardener found this review helpful.

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