Gold Marie Vining Bean
Phaseolus vulgaris 'Gold Marie'
A stunning French heirloom that produces bright golden-yellow pods on vigorous climbing vines. This variety offers the best of both worlds with tender, flavorful snap beans when young and excellent shell beans when mature. The brilliant yellow color makes it a showstopper in the garden and adds vibrant color to any dish.
Harvest
65-75d
Days to harvest
Sun
Full sun
Zones
2–11
USDA hardiness
Difficulty
Moderate
Planting Timeline
Showing dates for Gold Marie Vining Bean in USDA Zone 7
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Gold Marie Vining Bean · Zones 2–11
Growing Details
Zone-by-Zone Planting Calendar
| Zone | Indoor Start | Transplant | Direct Sow | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 | — | — | July – August | October – August |
| Zone 2 | — | — | June – August | September – September |
| Zone 11 | — | — | January – March | April – June |
| Zone 12 | — | — | January – March | April – June |
| Zone 13 | — | — | January – March | April – June |
| Zone 3 | — | — | June – July | September – October |
| Zone 4 | — | — | June – July | September – October |
| Zone 5 | — | — | May – June | August – October |
| Zone 6 | — | — | May – June | August – September |
| Zone 7 | — | — | April – June | July – September |
| Zone 8 | — | — | April – May | July – August |
| Zone 9 | — | — | March – April | June – July |
| Zone 10 | — | — | February – April | May – July |
Succession Planting
Direct sow Gold Marie every 14–18 days from your last frost date through early July. Each sowing delivers a harvest window of roughly 1–2 weeks at 65–75 days out, so staggering keeps pods coming in manageable amounts rather than all at once. The UGA Vegetable Garden Calendar specifically recommends a third snap bean planting in May — don't skip it just because you already have two going.
Stop sowing once daytime highs are consistently above 90°F; bean blossoms drop in that heat and pod set falls off sharply. In most zone 7 gardens that cutoff lands in late June to early July. A late-summer sowing around August 1–10 can work if your fall stays mild enough to reach harvest before first frost, but germination gets unreliable when soil temps at planting depth are still above 95°F.
Complete Growing Guide
Gold Marie Vining Bean thrives when direct sown into the garden after all danger of frost has passed and soil temperatures reach at least 60°F, ideally 70°F or warmer. Since this variety takes 65 to 75 days to harvest, counting backward from your first expected fall frost will help you time successive plantings. Unlike some climbing varieties, these vigorous vines benefit from a staggered planting schedule, sowing seeds every two weeks through midsummer to ensure a continuous harvest rather than one concentrated flush. Indoor sowing is unnecessary and often counterproductive, as these beans resent transplanting and germinate quickly once soil warms.
Prepare your soil by working in aged compost or well-rotted manure several weeks before planting, aiming for loose, well-draining earth that allows the vining roots to penetrate deeply. Sow seeds 1.5 inches deep and space them 4 to 6 inches apart along your trellis or support structure. Gold Marie Vining Bean produces prolific foliage and sets pods generously, so proper spacing prevents crowding and improves air circulation, crucial for this variety's disease susceptibility. Ensure your support structure—whether bamboo tepees, sturdy trellises, or twine—is installed before planting, as waiting to add supports later damages tender vines.
Water consistently throughout the growing season, providing 1 to 1.5 inches weekly through rainfall or irrigation. These beans perform best with even moisture; allow the soil surface to dry slightly between waterings, but never let the root zone become bone-dry, as stress invites spider mites. Fertilize lightly at planting with a balanced formula, then avoid heavy nitrogen feeding, which promotes leafy growth at the expense of pods. A light feeding when flowering begins supports pod development without encouraging excessive vine growth.
Gold Marie's brilliant yellow pods make this variety especially attractive to Mexican bean beetles and Japanese beetles, requiring vigilant monitoring beginning at the first sign of foliage damage. Scout plants every two to three days and hand-pick beetles and egg clusters whenever spotted. Aphids congregate on tender new growth, while spider mites proliferate in hot, dry conditions—maintain moisture around the base and consider light misting on stressed plants. Powdery mildew appears in late summer on these vines more readily than on darker-podded varieties; improve airflow through judicious thinning and avoid overhead watering.
The most common mistake gardeners make with Gold Marie is overfeeding nitrogen, seduced by the vigorous growth into thinking these vines need rich nutrition. Excessive nitrogen diverts energy from flowering and pod set, resulting in lush foliage but disappointing yields. Stick to moderate, balanced feeding and trust the variety's natural vigor to produce abundantly without coddling.
Harvesting
Harvest Gold Marie pods when they achieve their brilliant golden-yellow color and reach four to six inches in length, feeling tender and snappable between your fingers with no visible seed bulges for optimal snap bean texture. For continuous production throughout the season, pick pods every two to three days before they mature, which encourages the vigorous vines to flower prolifically and generate successive harvests. If you prefer shell beans instead, allow select pods to fully mature and dry on the vine until the pods turn pale yellow and papery, then shell the dried beans inside. A crucial timing tip: begin harvesting when vines are dry to prevent spreading fungal diseases, and note that Gold Marie typically reaches peak snap bean readiness around day 60-65, several days before the stated 65-75 day maturity window.
The boat-shaped seed pods are bilaterally symmetrical and can be green, yellow, white, or purple at maturity. There is a wide variety of color and shape choices among cultivars.
Color: Gold/Yellow, Green, Purple/Lavender, White. Type: Legume. Length: > 3 inches. Width: < 1 inch.
Garden value: Edible, Good Dried
Harvest time: Fall, Summer
Storage & Preservation
Fresh Gold Marie snap beans keep best when stored unwashed in perforated plastic bags in the refrigerator crisper drawer. They'll maintain quality for 5-7 days at 40°F with high humidity. For shell beans, remove from pods and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
For freezing, blanch snap beans in boiling water for 3 minutes, then immediately plunge into ice water. Drain thoroughly and freeze in sealed bags for up to 8 months. Shell beans freeze well without blanching—simply shell and freeze immediately.
Gold Marie makes excellent dried beans when pods are left on the vine until papery and brown. Shell the beans and cure in a warm, dry place for 1-2 weeks before storing in airtight containers. Properly dried beans keep for 2-3 years. The variety also pickles beautifully—use young, tender pods for French-style cornichon-style preparations.
History & Origin
The Gold Marie Vining Bean belongs to the broader tradition of French heirloom pole beans, a lineage particularly celebrated in European vegetable gardening for combining dual-purpose snap and shell bean characteristics. While specific documentation regarding its breeder, introduction year, or originating region remains limited in readily available sources, the variety's name and characteristics suggest French heritage, consistent with the country's strong tradition of developing refined bean varieties. The golden-yellow pod trait places it within a recognized subset of heirloom beans cultivated for both aesthetic appeal and culinary versatility, though precise genealogical records for this particular cultivar are not well-established in mainstream seed-saving literature.
Origin: Tropical America
Advantages
- +Stunning golden-yellow pods provide exceptional visual appeal in gardens and dishes.
- +Versatile dual-purpose variety works as snap beans or shell beans.
- +Sweet, buttery flavor rivals premium French heirloom bean varieties.
- +Vigorous climbing vines maximize vertical garden space and yield potential.
- +Moderate difficulty makes it accessible to intermediate gardeners with basic care.
Considerations
- -Highly susceptible to multiple diseases including anthracnose and bean mosaic virus.
- -Vulnerable to common bean pests like beetles, aphids, and spider mites.
- -65-75 day maturity requires longer growing season than bush bean varieties.
- -Requires sturdy trellising support for vigorous vining growth habit.
Companion Plants
The Three Sisters combination — corn, beans, and squash — is worth doing with Gold Marie if you have the space. Corn gives the vining plant something to climb so you're not scrambling for separate trellis materials. The beans fix nitrogen through Rhizobium bacteria at their roots, which the corn pulls on as the season progresses. Squash covers the ground, cutting down on weed pressure and slowing moisture loss from bare soil. Plant the corn first, let it reach 4–6 inches, then direct-sow the beans 6 inches from the stalks.
Nasturtiums and marigolds are useful at the row edges — nasturtiums in particular act as a trap crop, pulling aphids and thrips away from the beans onto themselves. Summer savory has a long-standing reputation for deterring bean beetles; the evidence at backyard scale is mixed, but it's a compact herb that won't compete aggressively and doubles as something you'll actually use in the kitchen. Radishes tucked at row ends can draw flea beetles away from young seedlings in the first few weeks after germination.
Onions and garlic are the companions to skip. The allelopathic compounds alliums release into the soil interfere with the nitrogen-fixing bacteria bean roots depend on — you end up undermining the one thing beans do for the whole bed. Fennel has a similar problem: it suppresses most vegetable neighbors broadly and doesn't play well with anything in close quarters. Keep both at least a full bed-width away from your beans.
Plant Together
Corn
Provides natural trellis support for vining beans while beans fix nitrogen for corn
Squash
Forms the 'Three Sisters' guild - squash leaves shade soil and suppress weeds
Marigolds
Repel Mexican bean beetles, aphids, and nematodes that attack bean roots
Nasturtiums
Act as trap crops for aphids and cucumber beetles while repelling squash bugs
Carrots
Beans improve soil nitrogen for carrots, carrots don't compete for same nutrients
Radishes
Break up compacted soil and deter bean root fly while maturing quickly
Summer Savory
Repels bean beetles and aphids, may improve bean flavor and growth
Catnip
Deters Mexican bean beetles, aphids, and flea beetles through natural compounds
Keep Apart
Onions
Can inhibit bean growth and nitrogen fixation through root exudates
Garlic
Allelopathic compounds can stunt bean growth and reduce yields
Fennel
Inhibits growth of most garden plants including beans through allelopathy
Sunflowers
Compete heavily for nutrients and water, can shade out vining beans
Nutrition Facts
Per 100g serving. % Daily Value based on 2,000 calorie diet. Source: USDA FoodData Central (FDC #2346400)
Pests & Disease Resistance
Resistance
Moderate resistance to common bean diseases
Common Pests
Bean beetles, aphids, spider mites, thrips
Diseases
Anthracnose, bacterial blight, bean mosaic virus, powdery mildew
Troubleshooting Gold Marie Vining Bean
What you'll see, why it happens, and what to do about it.
Leaves with ragged chunks missing, sometimes skeletonized, appearing around week 5–7
Likely Causes
- Mexican bean beetle (Epilachna varivestis) — larvae and adults chew leaf tissue from the underside, leaving a lacy or hole-punched look
- Bean leaf beetle (Cerotoma trifurcata) — smaller round holes, often scattered across the leaf surface
What to Do
- 1.Flip leaves and check the undersides for yellow egg clusters or orange larvae — hand-pick and drop in soapy water
- 2.Apply spinosad or neem oil in the early morning, coating the undersides of leaves where feeding happens
- 3.Rotate beans out of this bed for at least 2 seasons; adult beetles overwinter in nearby soil and debris and return to the same spot each year
Dark, sunken lesions on pods and leaves, sometimes with a salmon-pink ooze at the center
Likely Causes
- Anthracnose (Colletotrichum lindemuthianum) — a fungal disease that spreads in cool, wet conditions and overwinters in infected seed and crop debris
- Replanting beans in the same bed year after year, which builds up pathogen load in the soil
What to Do
- 1.Pull and trash (don't compost) any infected plant material immediately
- 2.Switch to a soaker hose delivering 1 inch per week at soil level — overhead watering keeps foliage wet and speeds up fungal spread
- 3.Next season, start with certified disease-free seed and rotate this bed out of beans and other legumes for 2–3 years, per NC State Extension's rotation guidance
Leaves puckering and mottled yellow-green, new growth stunted — plants stalling well before the 65-day harvest window
Likely Causes
- Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) — transmitted by aphids, which move the virus plant to plant in a matter of minutes
- Aphid colonies on tender growing tips, visible as clusters of small soft-bodied insects, sometimes with a waxy or powdery coating
What to Do
- 1.No cure once a plant is infected — remove and bag affected plants promptly to slow spread to neighbors
- 2.Knock aphid colonies off healthy plants with a firm spray of water, then follow with insecticidal soap every 5–7 days
- 3.Lay reflective mulch between rows before aphid pressure builds — it disrupts their flight approach and measurably reduces early-season colonization
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Gold Marie vining bean take to grow?▼
Can you grow Gold Marie beans in containers?▼
What do Gold Marie beans taste like compared to regular green beans?▼
When should I plant Gold Marie vining beans?▼
Are Gold Marie beans good for beginners?▼
Do Gold Marie beans need special support structures?▼
Growing Guides from Wind River Greens
Where to Buy Seeds
Sources & References
External authority sources used in compiling this guide.
See the Methodology page for how this data is sourced, what's AI-assisted, and known limitations.