A lot depends on variety you grew and how you cooked them as well.

I find that mine are stringy when they're on the vine too long.

Try planting one of the "stringless" varieties like Fortex or Blue Lake next time. With the other varieties, early picking makes a BIG difference in how stringy they are.

Dave

If you like them tender, Burpee Tenderpod and Florence are hard to beat. If you like them meaty, Burpee Stringless Green Pod is hard to beat.

I sure agree with Dave, in that variety plays a lot into how young you need to pick them to be stringless. I have a friend who truck farms and has a loyal clientel. I noticed one year I had ordered beans from her and they were so young, they had to be very intensive picking. I questioned her about it and she said that the variety was Provider, and that although they get big and beefy, if you don't pick them young they also get stringy. I had noticed that in a bushel I'd bought from a farm the year before. Had to be same variety.

I have grown top crop for DECADES. It's one you can let get more mature without having to deal with strings. I hate stringy beans, and am a busy person. I have had to feed my green beans to my chickens twice because I went a couple days too long to pick them. Thank God they weren't completely wasted. I hate to waste food of any sort.

Try "Contender" and/or "Provider" for phemonenal yield and taste. Pick them when they are as big around as a pencil for the best eating experience. You have to stay on top of them daily or they will get too big.

If they do get too big, let them continue to grow. When the pods are grotesquely big and start to discolor, strip out the beans and dry them for soup later on.

Ditto on Contender.

Thanks to all!