Beans, one of the oldest domesticated crops, are a fantastically versatile, easy to grow, and can be highly productive in small spaces.  Some beans are eaten fresh in their shell (your everyday snap bean), and some are removed from their shells and dried for long-term storage (shelling beans).  Despite the difference in how we eat them, most beans are closely related and have similar growth habits. In our Seattle gardens, we tend to only plant the snap bean type because the shelling beans usually require a longer growing season.