Topic: borlotti beans

[valentinelow]

It's our first year on the allotment, and there has been the usual mixture of triumphs and disasters (don't even talk to me about the carrots).
The borlotti beans are looking very promising, however. Does anyone have any tips on drying them? When do you harvest them if you intend to dry them? And if you want to eat some fresh, do you harvest them earlier?

[Jesse]

Hi valentinelow, I'm growing borlotti beans for the first time this year with the sole purpose of using them for drying. Here's a web page I found that is quite useful.

http://www.veganorganic.net/info2.html

[Derekthefox]

This is my own experience, which may not reflect recommended practice!
For drying, the beans are left on the plant until the shells have started to turn brown. They can be left to go completely brown. The beans are then harvested, shelled, and can be left to dry indoors. I have picked beans for eating fresh at any time once the beans have formed, which is easy to tell by feel . . . The shells will have turned a stripey red at this point.

I dont have any more to add, good luck!

[Merry Tiller]

You can also use them like runner beans while they're still green

[jennym]

On the seed packet of the beans I bought in France it says: To dry, cut the whole plant and hang from the branches of your trees until quite dry. I hang them up in the shed (it has no door) and they dry nicely.