Growing beans for drying.

[Jay-ell]

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.

I was thinking about growing these but for some reason the cyanide content has dissuaded me. Supposed to be OK once cooked with changes of water.

[Alison]

I was thinking about growing these but for some reason the cyanide content has dissuaded me. Supposed to be OK once cooked with changes of water.

I had some dwarf ones from HSL, I just stir fried them and they were fine (we're still alive!) but to be honest I wasn't that bothered about them. Definitely not as useful as the other beans I grow. The ones I had wouldn't have been big enough for much on dried beans although they are an interesting looking seed.

[Zelenina]

The year I grew Coco Blanc a Rames (from Mr F) I wanted them mainly for seed saving, so I let the earliest pods ripen and dry. They continued to grow more pods higher up the stems, and it got a bit late for drying them, so I had plenty of green beans to eat too. I know people will say that's the wrong way round to do it, but it worked for me with that variety. They made meaty flat stringless green beans, and chunky white dried beans.

[nellie-m]

I think if I'd only grow one variety for drying, it might be Pinto. I think I sent some in to the VSP a few years ago. They were amazing especially as the description had said they were dwarfs, so when they got a little long I put in some sticks, and then I decided they must be half-runners and put in some longer sticks, and then... they finally ended up being fully fledged Climbing French Beans. So funny. Messed up my whole plan for that bed

[planetologist]

Because of the combination of a big garden and organisational impairment, growing separate eating and drying beans is not an option. I just grow more plants than I can eat fresh. I also grow about 20 m2 (~120 plants) of broad beans, because they don't need staking, on the same principle: eat as many as I can fresh with lots left over.