Remember the post I made regarding Yin Yang Beans before? Many people were wondering what the plant would be like since the seeds they saw looks so peculiar.
Yin Yang Bean seeds
In January, I passed some seeds to one of my very accomplished and experinced community gardeners, Dan Mei, to grow in my community garden. In about two months, the plants attained maturity and started producing flowers.
Yin Yang Bean plants are short in stature and do not climb, which are typical growth characteristics of bush beans. A large number of plants grown in a single plot will look quite nice. The garden bed will look ‘filled’ with the lustrious foliage of these bush beans. They are barely 30 cm tall when they started flowering which occurred around 2 months. The leaves occur in threes on a single stalk and are rough to feel.
The bean pods that Yin Yang Beans produced are somewhat shorter in length, broader and flatter than the usual French or snap beans we see being sold in supermarkets. They can be harvested in the immature stage for use as our regular French beans.
The flowers of the Yin Yang beans are white in colour as shown in the pictures below.
The small, white, dainty flowers of the Yin Yang Bean.
Flower with developing bean pods.
hi wilson. i’m in singapore for three months on a programme based in the UK which develops ‘young leaders’. your garden looks incredible. do you have volunteers? do you need any volunteers? I would like to if you need anyone. The vagaries of tropical gardening might be a bit much for me, but i can clean, dig, weed – will do what I’m told. failing that do you have a time when people can visit the garden? trip.
Hi there,
You can email me at admin@greenculturesg.com to further discuss about the visit. You and your friends are more than welcomed really.
At present, we don’t really require volunteers… but we do hope you can come to take a look and give us your feedback and thoughts.
I cannot attribute the success of the community garden to me. It is only so good with the support from my community gardeners who all took ownership of what they grow and have put their heart and soul into the garden that was set up just for them.
Wilson
I never fail to learn something new each time I drop by. The Yin Yang seeds look so peculiar in a good way. Amazing.
Hi Teresa,
Glad the info has been useful to you. I am just sharing my experiences and I will be more than glad that they did benefit those of you who visited my blog.
You should try growing bush beans as they are petite and compact and hence very ideal for container growing on your balcony.
Wilson
Hi Wilson
Yar man, they look manageable. Kekeke. Where can I get seeds for this? Saw one of your past posts on Green Culture Forum for Known You Seeds and I thinking of going to their office for more seeds like basil, etc. Will they have it there too?
Hi Teresa,
Yin Yang Beans are not easily available. Known You Seeds have other generic vegetable and flower seeds. They have two ranges, namely, one is the hybrid seed range for commercial farmers and another for hobbyists.
The commercial range is a little costlier and seeds are sold at the smallest quantity of 10g. But the quality is good and the hybrid vigour and characteristics are also very well sought after.
Wilson
I will like to ask if you have any interest to help my newly set-up primary school in woodlands to create an interesting learning garden for the pupils.
Hi Siok Cheng,
Thanks for your enquiry. I have dropped you an email separately. Do check your inbox for it!
Wilson
hi i love the yin yang seeds but i cant find anyplace to buy them you help me out?
If you contact me at my email address I do have a quanity of the bean that I could send to you. I had a great crop this year so I would be happy to share some with you.
I planted yin yang beans ( although up here in the Pacific Northwest we call them Orca bean, due to the remarkable similiarity to the Orac whales that ply the waters of Puget Sound.) Anyway my beans were climbers, they went up above the gutters on my house and measured out at about 12 feet.Everything I read tells me they are a bush bean, but that was not my experience. They are wonderful in a soup, like Fagioli (sometimes pronounced Fazool). Has anyone else had them climb like mine did? Happy growing.
Hi there Wilson!
What a great post! We’ve been carrying these beans for a while now but didn’t take a picture of the actual plant! Do you mind if I use some of these (with credit) on our website?
Thanks!
I have grown yin and yang beans for the past 3 years, although we in the Pacific Northwest call them “Orca” bean,because they so resemble the pods of orca whales that ply the waters of Puget Sound. Anyway my beans are vigerous climbers that reach up to 12 feet tall. I have never had them “bush up” They are wonderful as a snap bean and great as a dried bean.The pods are about 5 inches long and the bean is about the size of your thumb nail.Amazing really, all the neighbors are enthralled by the robust growth! Great web site by the way!
As a post script to my posting I do have a quanity of yin and yang beans from this years crop, that I would be willing to share if anyone would care to grow them.Just contact me at my email address and I can fix you up with some. Thats the joy of gardening you know, the sharing of what you love to do!