An oddity: purple podded runner beans!

[terrier]

I've been growing Blauhilde beans, which are purple podded. They are a more rounded shape than runners but could be mistaken for them. It's possible that some beans got mixed up in the packing?

[Welsh Wizard]

Blauhilde have the wrong colour flowers: mine are scarlet. I see what you mean though!

[Big Gee]

Aeron Purple Star

This year I grew Polestar runner beans: not many, 18 plants in 2 large wigwams.

Most of the pods were green and rather yummy.

One plant produced deep purple pods which were also rather yummy and a whole load easier to spot and harvest! The beans themselves were purple and black and indistinguishable from regular Polestar.

I have googled and cannot find mention of purple podded runner beans: I guess it is a mutant?

I am saving seed and will be seeing if the mutation continues down the line!

Anyone else seen or grown purple podded runner beans?

I have bred a purple podded runner bean which I have called 'Aeron Purple Star' and after trialling it for a few years it is now stable. It has Polestar in it's heritage and has been cross bred with a few other varieties to obtain the desired results.

I offer the Aeron Purple Star beans free to amateur gardeners. You can read feedback from growers who have tried them here:

Your FEEDBACK

To request some seeds for next season then go to:

Aeron Purple Star Runner Bean Seeds Request Form 2014-15

I only have limited breeding stocks and therefore limit the number of beans to a maximum of 24 per grower. They are only available on a 'first come, first served' basis.

I'm sorry that this post is a bit late in reply to the original, but I've only just come across it

I hope that is of interest to members of this forum.

[veggiechicken]

Croeso Big Gee
Prepare to be inundated by requests for your Aeron Purple Star - there are some seriously keen bean growers here. Its very kind of you to offer them

[Hazel at the Hill]

Good evening, Big G and welcome to the Vine!

I can't think of anyone who has submitted a better 'first post' - welcome, and thank you for your generosity!

I haven't gone to your links yet (wanted to say hello), but can you just answer a quick question? Would I be right in thinking that your purple beans need to be isolated to come true? I was just thinking ahead for seed saving purposes.

[Big Gee]

Good evening, Big G and welcome to the Vine!

I can't think of anyone who has submitted a better 'first post' - welcome, and thank you for your generosity!

I haven't gone to your links yet (wanted to say hello), but can you just answer a quick question? Would I be right in thinking that your purple beans need to be isolated to come true? I was just thinking ahead for seed saving purposes.

Well thank you for your kind words Hazel!

I got a request from a Hazel in Bristol tonight - I'm guessing that's you? If it is I'll be replying to the requests I received tonight sometime tomorrow.

When you first grow my beans, they will all be purple podded - that's fine for eating. But the proof of the pudding regarding what they've pollinated with in the year they were grown will show up in your saved seeds for the next season.

To guarantee your beans to come true you will either need to grow them in isolation about half a mile (around 800m) from the nearest (different) variety - it's the bumble bees fault! OR you can hand pollinate them to make sure they are only pollinated from flowers from another Aeron Purple Star plant.

I send out a little leaflet explaining all this when I send the bean seeds out. If you want a quick peek now - you can download it from here:

http://aeronvale-allotments.org.uk/a...fo_leaflet.pdf

[Big Gee]

Croeso Big Gee
Prepare to be inundated by requests for your Aeron Purple Star - there are some seriously keen bean growers here. Its very kind of you to offer them

Ha ha! Fy mhleser i 'veggiechicken'! Diolch am y croeso!

I hope I don't get inundated with requests.
Although I'd like to give the whole world of veggie growers the pleasure of trying my beans - at this early stage in the development quantities are a bit limited. Next year hopefully I'll have more to offer as a kind friend down in Devon who has a small holding has promised to grow some in isolation for me. He's so impressed with them that he's not going to grow any other runnesr from now on! He's a good distance away from any other runner bean growers.

[Hazel at the Hill]

I got a request from a Hazel in Bristol tonight - I'm guessing that's you? If it is I'll be replying to the requests I received tonight sometime tomorrow.

Not me - but that means that there's two of us!? Blimey!

When you first grow my beans, they will all be purple podded - that's fine for eating. But the proof of the pudding regarding what they've pollinated with in the year they were grown will show up in your saved seeds for the next season.

To guarantee your beans to come true you will either need to grow them in isolation about half a mile (around 800m) from the nearest (different) variety - it's the bumble bees fault! OR you can hand pollinate them to make sure they are only pollinated from flowers from another Aeron Purple Star plant.

I send out a little leaflet explaining all this when I send the bean seeds out. If you want a quick peek now - you can download it from here:

http://aeronvale-allotments.org.uk/a...fo_leaflet.pdf

I thought that might be the case - those runners are promiscuous little beggars, ain't they.

By utter and total coincidence, a grower/blogger in London who I respect has posted her thoughts on your beans on this very day - spooooooooooooooky! She's not such a fan, but new varieties have to be given a fair airing though all sorts of climates/soil variations/aspects, so that doesn't put me off! If there is enough seed, a trial on taste and yield would be happily undertaken by the good grapes here.

[Big Gee]

Yes dopey me - I wrote that without realising that you're from nowhere near Bristol! Doh! I just assumed that you were the same Hazel - sorry

Still two Hazels for the price of one!!!

[veggiechicken]

Probably both Nuts - one is for sure

[Big Gee]

. . . . By utter and total coincidence, a grower/blogger in London who I respect has posted her thoughts on your beans on this very day - spooooooooooooooky! She's not such a fan, . . . .

As I've only received ONE negative feedback for my beans I think I know who your friend is. I have distributed thousands of beans all over the UK, Canada & the US without a single complaint - in fact the opposite.

Did she also tell you that her plot neighbour who is also growing my Aeron Purple Stars has no problem at all? Also, she admits it's the first time she's ever grown runner beans & finally in her last post on another forum she admits she now thinks the problem with her crop was not my beans at all but infestation with southern green shield beetles.

Have just seen this - check pictures for southern green shield beetle. If they match, then they are an imported pest which spreads diseases in beans, but particular in runners. I've had them on my runners and borlottis, and it looks like the borlottis have given up. And the Aeron Purple Star were badly affected but recovered after a severe haircut.

So I think my 100% positive feedback record is still in tact! But don't just take my word for it - put in a request early (to save disappointment) and grow them next year yourself and then let me know what you think. I'm quietly confident you'll have a big smile on your face come the summer of 2015!

Aeron Purple Star Runner Bean Seeds Request Form 2014-15