When to pick runner beans for seeds.

[SammieB]

Thanks for the link Bren, that's really useful.

[arpoet]

Due to the impending storm I have removed a lot of excess leaves from my beans and picked several seed pods that are almost ready for picking and they are slowly completing their drying in the basement.

[FlawlessVictory]

The pods which I saved from had already dried and turned brown, I emptied the pods and left them on my windowsill to dry. Then I put them in a plastic sealed baggie. Has any one had any strange hybrids from their Runners as I hear they are a bit promiscuous.

[Alison]

Runners do cross but the chances of you getting something weird or inedible are low, it doesn't carry anything like the risk of squashes or chillies / sweet peppers.

[Zelenina]

I've just checked and they were Scarlet Emperor (another winner I had from the VSP ) and Enorma

So next year you'll have Scarlet Enorma, plus maybe something else mixed in from the neighbours, because runners cross very freely. But it doesn't matter if they're just for your own use. As Alison says, they should still grow fine and tasty beans.

[Zelenina]

So next year you'll have Scarlet Enorma, plus maybe something else mixed in from the neighbours, because runners cross very freely. But it doesn't matter if they're just for your own use. As Alison says, they should still grow fine and tasty beans.

That is of course if they only cross with other typical British tender-podded varieties. If they were to cross with a course-podded variety meant for producing dried soup beans or butter beans, which are more common in other parts of Europe, the results might not be so edible

[SammieB]

I was growing them in large tubs on my drive and don't know of anyone else nearby who grows their own so I think I'm reasonably safe!

[Zelenina]

So, in 50 years time we'll all be swapping seeds of SammieB's special heritage variety of Enormous Scarlet runner beans

[veggiechicken]

I've been growing Firestorm which is a self fertile RB - described as a cross between a French bean and a runner. Runner beans: the best buys - Telegraph. There's another one called Moonight.

What do you think are the chances of this crossing with a Runner bean?

[Zelenina]

I don't know for sure VC, but I should think they will cross easily enough. I guess the original interspecies hybrids were back-crossed several times to runner beans to make them more runner beany. So they probably have mainly runner bean genes apart from the ones that make them self fertile.