Rattlesnake Snap Bean

I've been growing these for several years now in central NC. Except for one year when I lost the battle with the rabbits, these have been steadfastly reliable and provided good quality beans.

As a novice gardener I planted late in the season, and in rows as if they were a bush bean. Plants found a way to make it to the nearby chicken wire and produce in spite of my mistakes.

Love these beautiful, prolific beans! I am picking buckets full daily. Excellent flavor even the ones that get to 8" long.

Tried these for the first time, growing them in zone 6 southwest Ohio. They are awesome, producing a new batch of beans over and over again after harvesting. I've been picking them when they are going and tender, about the diameter of my pinky, but even when they get a little larger they are still tasty. Nice fresh taste, tender texture without getting mushy when cooked. Plan for plenty of climbing room, vigorous climbers that need lots of room to grow!

These beans always have my produce bucket full. The best beans I have ever grown and are my go to bean if I need large quantities! They have never failed me and the flowers are beautiful!

Best bean, hands down. Tasty and crisp and stringless as a green bean and a delicious, pinto-like dry bean. Also make killer dilly beans!

This amazing Rattlesnake bean is, hands down, the very BEST bean I’ve ever grown. Heat, drought, and pest resistant, which delivers an abundant crop, they are juicy, tender, reliable, and delicious. Just ask the deer and ground hogs! I broadcast them in a shallow ditch about 6 inches wide along the inside perimeter of my fenced in garden, and they use the fence to grow tall. They are extremely prolific, and the harvest lasts until frost; so, usually, from late July till October, I’m picking beans (It gives me something to do in between telemarketers’ calls). I call them “the watermelon of the bean family“ because they are so juicy and delectable, and I often eat them raw. Depending on how much are planted (I like to broadcast between 1-2 lbs of seeds), I harvest about 2-3 lbs of string beans every other day. I've tried so many other beans, but these are, I think, the very best of the very best. And Seed Savers always delivers dependable beans – I’ve never had beans fail to germinate.

I love these beans! It’s so fun having them grow up the arbor I built and being surrounded by them. They have been very bountiful. I bring in a couple pounds every other day from 8 plants. They cook green so they don’t scare away dinner guests. I’ve canned them, put them in stir-fry, and cooked them in a skillet. I’ll be ordering again!

The. Best. Bean. EVER!!!

After trying loads of varieties of beans for nearly 50 years, I fell in love with these; the number one, best, most prolific, most tasty, most tender bean on the market. I started with Seed Savers Exchange and was so pleased with the germination and productivity, that I spread the praises of this bean to all my gardening friends - and now they have planted it. This year was tough for the poor plants with all the rain - I usually have been able to harvest a continuous crop till frost - but in spite of this year's rain, I've still managed to harvest enough for winter.

This is my 7th year planting them from the seed originally gotten from the first harvest and they have stayed true to form. I'm so pleased, not only with the success of this bean, but with the faithful dedication of the folks at Seed Savers from whom I purchase all my seeds. Because of them, folks can look forward to healthy eating for themselves and their great-great grandchildren. THANK YOU!!!

I have grown this variety for about ten years in central IA. It is a trouble-free crop. I appreciate its drought resistance, and productivity. The pods are straight enough I can pack them easily for pickling when picked slightly before they get full sized. They are not overly 'beany' flavored like some old fashioned kinds can be. The purple streaking cooks off when cooked. Hummingbirds visit the flowers. Likes to reseed itself, even when I think I've picked it clean.
So far, it's my favorite green bean.

hands down,the best green beans ever!!
gret flavor,and very prolific!

Excellent pole bean for hot, arid zone 8. Filled up the trellis with tender, juicy beans. Pick every day, once they got bigger, we didn't enjoy them quite as much. But thinner ones we happily ate raw. Wonderful flavor. Will be a permanent addition to my garden. Will also use a much taller trellis next year!

I have bought 2 packets of 50 seeds of Rattlesnake snap bean. To my surprise when i opened the packets, one packet only has 35 seeds and the other one has 45 seeds. Therefore I am missing 20 seeds for both packets. I have written to complain and was told they will send a replacement. Its' been 4 weeks now and i am still waiting. Customer service has gone silent despite my request for updates....

Patrick,
We are working on sending your replacement packets. Please contact me at jholland@seedsavers.org.

We have been growing Rattlesnake beans for over thirty years. These snap beans are always tender and flavorful both raw and cooked, BUT today I found a new way to eat them. I collected a pound of dry beans from the dead plants last year after the frost. I cooked these dry beans in the pressure cooker today. Wow, they were fantastic. I will definitely grow extra this year to cook as dried beans.

Voles ate most of my "Blue Lake" pole beans two summers ago and all I could still find on the shelf in June were one package of "Rattlesnake." I started them indoors this time, then filled in around the trellis with them. Soon I was conducting an unintended taste test between the two varieties. They were like night and day. Rattlesnake, despite its name, won the flavor test hands down! Happily, I did not experience any more wilt with Rattlesnake than with Blue Lake- which was not until the very end of the season.