Tesco's Butter beans!

[Snadger]

Anyone had any joy with growing dried butter beans from the supermarket?

I bought about a dozen butter bean seeds last year from eBay which grew well, similar to runner beans (which I DON'T like!)

Always had the feeling this guy had bought a kilo of dried butter beans from a supermaket cheaply and split them up and sold them on eBay making about 5000% profit!

I've set a couple of dozen to give them a try anyway!

[lottie dolly]

hi snadger,i have,but cannot remember weather it was asda or tesco,i chitted some several weeks ago then planted them in a tray of compost,they are now aprox 1ft high,and are a lovely lighter shade of green,they look extremly healthy,and are standing upright,i only did them as an experiment,and am well chuffed up to now,they really ought to be in the ground,but am hanging on a bit longer,in case of a late frost,only time will tell if beans apppear lol

[Nickerly]

That's a really good idea. Might get some myself.

[zazen999]

I did it with pintos last year from tescos/sainsburys and it kept me in beans for most of the winter......sowing their babies in a couple of weeks.

[weekendwellies]

Does this work with other dried beans too? I have a mixed bag of dried beans that I wouldnt mind having a go at growing. I never thought about using these to grow with before. Do you need to soak them first or just put them straight in the ground?

[baggyman]

Also works with peas. I bought a pack of Batchelors dried peas, the large ones you use for mushing, soaked 'em and sowed em and now they're about 2" high.
An old bloke in our allotments does it every year and has the best peas on the site.
BTW do these butter beans climb or are they a bush type?

[Snadger]

Also works with peas. I bought a pack of Batchelors dried peas, the large ones you use for mushing, soaked 'em and sowed em and now they're about 2" high.
An old bloke in our allotments does it every year and has the best peas on the site.
BTW do these butter beans climb or are they a bush type?

I have grown butterbeans before and they are similar in growth habit to scarlet runners reaching the top of the canes very quickly!

Hopefully Tesco's aren't a dwarf variety!

[baggyman]

I was thinking that as they mass produce them they might grow them short to pick by machine like peas but I am probably wrong.

[vegnut]

Hi all. Has anyone had any luck with the germination of their Beans yet.

[Snadger]

Hi all. Has anyone had any luck with the germination of their Beans yet.

Mine have germinated very quickly in a cold greenhouse!

[Two_Sheds]

Does this work with other dried beans too? I have a mixed bag of dried beans that I wouldnt mind having a go at growing. I never thought about using these to grow with before. Do you need to soak them first or just put them straight in the ground?

I always soak a handful overnight first, then rinse daily until they start to sprout. Not all do. I then pick the best dozen to pot up.

Results are variable ... the ones I'm doing this year haven't sprouted and have just rotted. Perhaps some are picked before they are fully mature, I don't know.

My chick peas have done very well this year ... they're on the plot, 3 inches high.

[Snadger]

I was thinking that as they mass produce them they might grow them short to pick by machine like peas but I am probably wrong.

Hope not, or else I am going to look a right plonker with these dinky beans set at the base of 8 foot poles!

[marmalade]

LOL that really made me laugh

I would never have thought you could grow things from dried beans from the supermarket

now there's something I can try! I love beans!

would they grow in pots? and if so how big a pot?

[chrispy]

my OH had been on about growing butter beans when this thread appeared, having read all the comments hear, i suggested to her that we try some dried supermarket beans. We bought some in Sainsbury's on shopping day this week (wed 29th) soaked them overnight, laid them between sheets of damp kitchen roll, and VOILA!! they have germinated........in 2 days!!!.......I'm gobsmacked!!!
great tips guys
thankyou all, brilliant!!

[pigletwillie]

They sound like my spagna bianco Snadger, they grow like runners but dont be tempted to eat them like that, they are as stringy as old boots. Grow them for the beans, they are gorgeous in taste and texture.