Growing beans for drying.

[Alison]

Simples - Plant, don't pick, harvest at end

Exactly, no further plan needed

[veggiechicken]

Simples - Plant, don't pick, harvest at end

Exactly, no further plan needed

Sounds a bit complicated to me

Thanks - I shall have a tucked-away row and leave them to get on with it. Simple! Don't know what all the fuss was about

[sparrow100]

Don't know what all the fuss was about

Course now you can get sucked into the different shapes and colours, which is what I like most about them. They are so purty...black ones, red and white ones, speckled ones, big ones, little ones...need I say more?

I got over 3kg this year, which will keep us in Sparrow Towers tooting away merrily till spring

[Alison]

I have found its been a particularly good year for beans generally, both dried and fresh. Good times!

[Jay-ell]

Had over 8lbs of dried beans this year - black ones, white ones, black and white ones, brown, red & brown, speckled and red ones. That's one 8x4 bed. Also ate quite a few fresh beans and had to harvest early as the supports collapsed and I had a tangled mess.

[sparrow100]

Am I allowed to set us off on a small tangent and ask which are your favourites?

[veggiechicken]

Of course - 'cos I'm curious too.
Jay-ell will probably say the red speckled ones

[Jay-ell]

It's the black and white ones - I'm from Newcastle after all.

[veggiechicken]

Are they the ones like little Whales (not Big Wales)?

[Jay-ell]

The Ying Yang or Orca beans - they're a dwarf bean. Or I could just mix Cobra and Blue Lake in the same jar

I do like Borlotto and Runner Beans. Very nice in stews and soups.

[Cadalot]

Finally yesterday I ended up with two tomato trays worth of Scarlet Emperor runner beans, which will be decanted into a number of other trays and left on top of the fridge freezer next to the airbrick to dry out before bagging up and sending into the Pea & Bean circle.

[Alison]

I do like Borlotto and Runner Beans. Very nice in stews and soups.

Borlottis beans are French beans grown for the seeds, no idea why they have a different name

[Perseus]

I grow climbing Borlotti beans just for drying, must grow more next year as they've already all been eaten...
Apparently they freeze well too but I haven't had the chance to try it yet.

[Small pumpkin]

Try these VC
Lablab bean
This beautiful climbing plant (up to 2m) is also known as the Hyacinth bean. It has edible pods and seeds: you can either pick the young pods and cook them whole or leave them to mature for sliced beans or leave them even longer for dried beans. The leaved are purple tinged and give this plant an ornamental quality as well. The flowers are perfumed and can be purple, red, pink or white! You will have to wait and see. A wonderful choice Price for 30 seeds

Write up taken From m0re veg website.

[Bren In Pots]

I grow Scarlet Emperor runners and Serbian pole beans, the runner are eaten as green beans then later left for eating/freezing and seed beans, with the Serbian ones grown just for saving/ eating they're a pretty bean that remind me of birds eggs.