Runner Beans

SEE

Last year I sowed Scarlet emperor and was reasonably impressed, but this year I wanted to sow White Lady. After looking online the prices were horrendous:eek: and more so in stores. I eventually found http://www.alanromans.com/

with the splendid price of just 80p for 48 seeds but they're sold out for this year:mad: So, I've now sown Painted Lady:p and put myself on their email list.

What runner beans are you sowing this year?

madmum33

We've always had good crops from Enorma, so that's what we've got again!

Thanks for the link, I'll have a look, they might have some better deals on other seeds.

cheerfulness4

I'm also sowing Scarlet emperor and Celebration (no idea of flavour but liked the salmon coloured flowers )
My FIL gave me some a couple of years ago which I believe are Lady Diana and I sow those also each year. Love my runners.

looby-loo_2

I shall be sewing those I saved from last year. I have no idea what they are as my grandfather gave me them over 30 years ago.

He told me to always plant 6 plants at the end of the row, not to pick them, but to leave them for seed. I let about 6 beans grow on each plant then stop the rest. These then grow nice and big and I save them. Take them off when they are ripe an the end of the season in early October. By then the seed pod is paper thin. Keep the seeds in a jar in a dark place over winter.

SEE

looby-loo wrote: »

I shall be sewing those I saved from last year. I have no idea what they are as my grandfather gave me them over 30 years ago.

He told me to always plant 6 plants at the end of the row, not to pick them, but to leave them for seed. I let about 6 beans grow on each plant then stop the rest. These then grow nice and big and I save them. Take them off when they are ripe an the end of the season in early October. By then the seed pod is paper thin. Keep the seeds in a jar in a dark place over winter.

What a lovely idea to pass seed down through the generations:T Wouldn't it be smashing to think that someone in your family will sow the same family of seed 200yrs from now:beer:

MRSMCAWBER

Hi all

Im growing the following beans

• rotblunhende -a german one
• teepee cropper
• dubble witte - german
• borlotti
• ferrari french
• Blauw speck -german blue
• lady di
• Desiree
• kentucky wonder -yellow bean
• polka dwarf -yellow
• Uistia soya
• lingua di fuoco 2 -
• sultana french
• relay runner

guess I have a bean fetish to go with the tomato fetish I have :rotfl: -ooh and 6 pea varieties too

cheerfulness4

If you're still around MrsMc - I was wondering if you know what these seeds are: Stangen Blaukhulside (has heritage seed library written on them).
Some kind soul gave them to me and I think they are a Dwarf french bean but they sound sort of german.
Any ideas what they'll be like?

Does blau mean blue?

pauldreed

I grew runner bean Enorma for the first time last year and they were fantastic, really tasty and string free, although due to the cold dull spring, the lack of bee's resulted in poor pollination and flowers dropping off.
This year, I have sown 6 'Tendergreen' dwarf french beens in a pot in the greenhouse for an early crop, and they have about 6 leaves on now, and am sowing a few 'Cobra' french climbing beans mid April for the garden (because they don't need pollinating).
I will not sow the Enorma beans this year until mid May - but hopefully they will be worth waiting for!!

MRSMCAWBER

Hi Cheerfulness

Stangenbohnen are like french beans, and yes blau is blue..they sound very similar to the ones Im growing
I will try and scan the packet so I can add a pic so you know what you are growing ,,,give me a few mins..

the scanner won't behave at the moment but you we see a couple of the blue beans on this pic from last year -my first few bits and I was so excited :rotfl: they do go dark green when steamed -will try and scan the packet tomorrow:D

you will need to click to get a big picture

Rummer

I love the idea of using the seeds again next year and I will be doing that for my family this year, that is if I can stop them from harvesting them! Do you know if it works well for peas too?

cheerfulness4

Rummer wrote: »

Do you know if it works well for peas too?

I think it does Rummer because I was reading on an allotment site how they save them year to year. I trust they would know.