Just like peas, there are different types of beans.
Types of Beans:
When talking types of beans, consider what stage you want to eat them.
Snap Beans – The beans and pods are edible. They typically mature quickly. The most famous type of snap bean is a green bean.
Shell Beans –  The beans are shelled from the pod and cooked.  They are ready to be shelled when the pod starts to change color but are NOT dried out. Also, the beans are plump inside. A famous shell bean is a soybean/edamame.
Dried Beans – The beans are shelled from the pod when the beans and the pod are dried. Once the beans are mature, you can leave them on the plant to dry or harvest the pods and let them dry out inside your house in a warm room.
You should always read the seed packet as the good seed companies will tell you the stage that the bean will taste the best! Keep in mind that some shell and dried beans can be harvested as snap beans. Also, most dried beans can be harvested as shell beans. For instance, you can harvest soybeans and fava beans as shell or dried beans.
Another thought is how tall you want your plants to grow.
Indeterminate or Pole/Runner Beans – These pants vine. Since I have cattle fencing trellis, I usually grow more pole beans. Pole bean plants produce over a long period of time and can grow way over 6 feet.
Half Runner Beans – These plants have similarities of the pole/runner and the bush bean plants. This means that they grow as bushes and sends off vines or runners that can grow a few feet above the bush portion of the plant. I usually grow these bean plants next to a 5 to 6 foot pole. A popular half runner bean is the pinto bean plant.
Determinate or Bush Beans – some varieties like soy and fava beans only grow in a bush form up to 3 feet tall. Typically, bush bean plants produce all their beans around the same time.
