Runner Bean Straightness..

[cptncrackoff]

Not sure if straightness is even a word, or the right word.
Having just put two large bags of runners into the freezer, i was wondering why all of the pictures in the seed catalogues have absolutely perfectly straight runner beans, yet mine are nearly always curly..

Is it something i'm doing wrong!?

This year i have grown hestia, a dwarf variety, they have been watered often, fed with tomorite, were put in my own compost and have produced plenty of very tasty stringless beans and still are, but like i said, mostly curly.
Any thoughts!?
thanks

[reetnproper]

To much foliage and branches so the beans had to grow around them? Or are we talking 'turkey twizzlers' (think Jamie Oliver and school dinners ).

Reet
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[binley100]

Dunno the answer to that one but my white lady were lovely and straight....

[cptncrackoff]

Hmmm, no just a bit curved, mine are always curved, are no one elses curved, is it just me!?

[binley100]

yup...seems so

[reetnproper]

Lol, no some of mine are curved, some are straight, some even have a 90 degree angle (branches got in the way) and today I even had a helter skelter shaped one as well

I think the thing is most people are used to seeing runner beans in supermarkets, where they are perfectly straight and regimented so, knowing that this is the publics perception of runner and french beans, only those beans which match this perception are used in marketing/packet photography.

The realtiy is that Mother Nature is NOT a perfectionist, nor does she work for the EU and other such governing bodies. She does her own thing and so do your beans

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[binley100]

surely it doesn't matter whether they are straight or curly it's the taste that counts ....curly may be a pita to deal with but the fact is you've grown them yourself and they are fresher than anything you'll get in the shops .

[Two_Sheds]

A lot of my dwarfies go curly where they touch the ground, but the tall beans are nearly all straight (ish)

[bearded bloke]

Yep,as noted above,go for the taste not the shape.A prime example if you want to travel is the farmers market in Funchal,Madeira where everything grown is sold regardless of size &/or shape .. & jolly tasty it is

[cptncrackoff]

Thanks for all your replies, they taste good, in fact we had some tonight with some fish and potatoes, the only things we bought were the butter and salt! lol
Your points regarding the curly ones not having room may be right, it is mostly the lower beans that are curly.
My dad only ever grew Painted lady, my childhood memories of runner beans is that they were all straight, this only came to mind when going through the 2012 DT brown book.

The dwarf plants have done very very well, despite being over crowded in the pots, the only stight drawback is that the might not be as easy to harvest as a climber.
That considered I will still be growing them again next year!

[reetnproper]

The dwarf plants have done very very well, despite being over crowded in the pots, the only stight drawback is that the might not be as easy to harvest as a climber.
That considered I will still be growing them again next year!

Don't kid yourself . There is no such thing as an 'easy to harvest' bean. Dwarf or climber, they like to hide their beans and make you hunt for them. Even when you think you've got them all, you haven't - there is always at least one you miss but they are so worth the effort

Oh and don't be thinking you'll learn from this years mistakes and plant less of them - you wont be able to help yourself and will find yourself squeezing 'just one more' plant into a space, you know, from experience, isn't really big enough

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[Rocketron]

I'm glad you asked this question as I have exactly the same with my French Beans and Chillies.
On the same plant, some are perfectly straight, others are curly.
There must be a simple explanation, but I'm blowed if I can reason it.

[reetnproper]

French Beans and Chillies.
On the same plant, some are perfectly straight, others are curly.
There must be a simple explanation, but I'm blowed if I can reason it.

On the same plant!!! French beans AND chillies!!!! Now that's a sight I'dlike to see

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[horticultural_hobbit]

Mother nature specialises in curved.....oh, damn, innuendo...so why should veg be different. There are no straight lines in nature neither, apparently. I had a small hissy fit of worry when my tendergreen beans went curly. Now I would sooner they were curly! I had some curly chillies too. The funkier the veg the better. After all, we are GYO-ing, not for a supermarket.