Runner Bean - Tried and Tested Variety

[gojiberry]

You could try a few dwarf french beans as an early crop. They tend to be a few weeks earlier than runners and are easier to cloche and keep the late frost of.

Ian

[Newton]

Great advice in this months GYO. One of their experts gives the following tip.

Start off in pots and when planting out the seedling plant an extra seed next to the young plant. If the first gets killed by the frost the second should survive.......I will be following this advice and if they both survive then happy days....more runners!

[Potstubsdustbins]

Croila,

Just to make you envious, today with lunch I had runners & peas both frozen from last year covered with fresh mint sauce. Luvly Jubbly.

Colin

[coreopsis]

Mint sauce.Bleurgh!

[Croila]

Croila,

Just to make you envious, today with lunch I had runners & peas both frozen from last year covered with fresh mint sauce. Luvly Jubbly.

Colin

Colin, I was getting really envious until I came to the mint sauce bit. In the words of coreopsis, "Mint sauce. Bleurgh!"

[Croila]

You could try a few dwarf french beans as an early crop. They tend to be a few weeks earlier than runners and are easier to cloche and keep the late frost of.

Ian

I like this idea - thank you. Think I'll go and get some seeds/beans tonight!

[Potstubsdustbins]

Oh I love my home made mint with lamb, wouldn't be the same with out it. Still different folks different strokes, wouldn't do if we all liked the same things.


Colin

[VirginVegGrower]

Well, I bought Painted Lady, so I look forward to trying a different bean to SE when I eventually sow them.

[Croila]

Just wondering if anyone's got any views on Scarlet Emperor? I was looking a "Which" gardening magazine last night which did a comparison of several different variety of bean. Scarlet Emperor scored pretty badly compared to the others on stringiness, flowering, setting and taste. Yet my father used to grow them and he was raving the other day about how great they are?

[coreopsis]

Croila,it's quite fiddly with the varieties.I was a bit obsessed about it until I realised that what works for me doesn't have to work for the others and vice versa.One year I had brilliant results with one variety and thought "great,I'll stick to that",next year it was complete failure.

[VirginVegGrower]

Setting of flowers can be helped by misting them with water daily. I have grown these for years and we never have a problem with it. Reliable heavy cropper. All beans have flavour if you pick early enough. As for stringiness, I always shave beans down the sides as well as top and tail.
Think it's mainly down to feeding and watering really. Having said all that I am trying a different variety this year.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I think the main problem with stringiness is people leave the beans on the plant to long. Picked young most beans have very little string.

Colin

[quark1]

Had great results with Celebration last year - 8 plants yielded plenty for us (2) and loads to give away to family of 5. Pretty pink flowers!

Good remarks from receivers re flavour etc.

Don't let them get too large - although impressive visually - before picking and eating/freezing.

Last of crop dried and saved for this year - will try some of those as well as a few others.

Haven't yet tried dried/reconstsituted in soups or stews but guess they'd work OK.

[Gurberly]

Just wondering if anyone's got any views on Scarlet Emperor? I was looking a "Which" gardening magazine last night which did a comparison of several different variety of bean. Scarlet Emperor scored pretty badly compared to the others on stringiness, flowering, setting and taste. Yet my father used to grow them and he was raving the other day about how great they are?

Out of interest, which did "Which" score the best.... or their top 3?

G

[AntonyM]

I've always found Polestar very good, but this year I am growing some Scarlet Emperor for the first time as well , so will be an interesting comparison.