Topic: growing beans for storing

[thifasmom]

OK you storing professionals ;). i would really like to try growing beans for storage next year. i attempted to do so this year, but the borlotto beans were so tasty i could not resist using them :-[, so won't have enough for storing.

so my question is

• borlotto plants: how many do i need to grow to get approx 5lbs of dry beans
• kidney beans: how many do i need to grow to get approx 5lbs of dry beans

i think i will just try these two as i only have my garden so won't really have the space to go all out. I'll probably grow the borlottos in between the sweetcorn, and the red beans (sorry kidney beans in between the squash/ courgetts, etc.

thanks in advance for the advice

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

i'd try and eat as many of the beans as you can fresh. They're much nicer than the dried bean, and you can't get them in the shops, other than cooked in tins.

We dry a lot of beans though, only because there is such a lot ready at the same time. We have cannellini, dutch brown, tarbais, pea bean, borlotti, my mystery bean, some of Jeannine's from America, lima (may not mature), and the gigandes (runner) this year

some people have probs with grubs in the dried bean, and blanch and freeze, or pop them in the freezer for a bit to kill them rather than just dry but i've not done this (yet)

can't say how many you'ld need for 5lb but it's a lot. Our Pakistani supermarket sells most dried beans for £2.60 for 2 kg, and the amount of space needed for that would be huge, so it's almost not worth bothering

[grawrc]

I grew dwarf borlotti this year simply because I had some seed and I will be drying them because I don't need them for eating yet and they will be past it as fresh beans by the time I get round to them. Freezer is already full.
Like RT I'm not sure it's worth it given how cheap they are to buy.

[Jeannine]

I would agree with what Roo says considering the types you have grown. I do grow beans for drying but the ones you have are good eaten fresh.

If you need to put food down dor the winter and don't have the freezer space to do it that way then I would consider growing beans for drying.

I grow lots of old fashioned ones that are better as dried beans and only grow them because I can't get them without growing myself.

Consider which beans you would buy as dry if you could find them, go on a bean site and take a look at their uses, then make the decision when you are well informed.

Beans vary much more for use, taste and texture than many folks realise so looking at what is out there may help you.

XX Jeannine

[thifasmom]

thanks everyone for the advice i am not worried about the taste, as i grew up on a large bean diet, i know they are cheap to buy, but just want to experiment with providing more home grown foods and thought that to begin with i would try and grow ones that are fairly easy to grow in the UK.

jeannine i would do more research on-line as suggested and see what i come up with.

as a teenager i did agriculture and remember covering kidney beans and growing them but i don't have those old text books anymore so can't remember what the plant to bean harvest ratio is.

Rhubarb Thrasher I'll have to remember the grubs in the pod might be a problem as well.
any way thanks again and I'm off to let my mouse do some clicking :D.

[flowergirl]

I too want to dry my beans but not sure if the variety I have grown this year are suitable, perhaps someone may know?

I have grown red emperor, white emergo and prize winning stringless (all runner beans).  Can you use these beans?  I have far too many to eat while there in the pod and have loads of seeds left so don't really want to use them for seeds.  Please advice x

FG

PS I would really love to grow kidney beans...what seeds should I buy?

[Bean_Queen]

"kidney" is a term covering many big fat dried beans - it isn't a variety.

For a real classic red kidney bean, like in Chilli Con Carne - grow Canadian Wonder.

I weighed my crop (once ... life's too short) and got about an ounce (25g) of dried beans per plant.

I don't care if it's cheaper to buy dried beans ... I am saving airmiles & avoiding pesticides etc by growing my own.

My favourites are Yin Yang & Barlotta.  Cherokee Trail of Tears is a nice black bean, but very small - it's more efficient to grow bigger beans than have to shell 1000s of tiny ones.

[antipodes]

This year I grew Coco de Paimpol very successfully. OK they are better as semi-dried - pick them when they are fresh but the pod has swelled to its maximum - but they had dried by themselves when I got back from hols so had no choice this year. SO far no signs of grubs in them (but that has happened to me before!)
If they are fresh, they are great seeded then frozen. They are really very tasty with an excellent smooth texture.

[thifasmom]

thanks for the info antipodes and Bean_Queen, I'll bookmark this post to refer to next year, and will let everyone know how i got on.

I weighed my crop (once ... life's too short) and got about an ounce (25g) of dried beans per plant.

I don't care if it's cheaper to buy dried beans ... I am saving airmiles & avoiding pesticides etc by growing my own.

1 oz per plant so for 5lbs i need at least 80 plants well i don't think i have enough space for 80 might be able to do 30. will have to see how it goes. and i agree about the avoiding pesticides, etc.

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

I could give you the gigandes, but also mine haven't been picked yet. Seeds of Italy do them BTW

for max yield grow climbers rather than dwarf

1oz per plant is a bit on the low side I think

[thifasmom]

I could give you the gigandes, but also mine haven't been picked yet. Seeds of Italy do them BTW

for max yield grow climbers rather than dwarf

1oz per plant is a bit on the low side I think

thanks for the offer  but I'm happy to buy them at the moment, so do you think that 1oz per plant is to low an estimate and that i might be able to get more from the plants, what has been your average yield when growing beans for drying?

and i was also wondering if i could just buy the dry kidney beans and try growing those, has anyone tried this will the plants cope with the British weather, I'm in Kent so the weather can be quite decent when it wants to be ::).

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

yes you could buy dried kidney beans and grow them. I've germinated butterbeans from Tescos with no probs. They were about 4 years old in a jar too
never measured my yield, but just for you i'll do it this year with the pea beans and the borlottis  ;D

[thifasmom]

yes you could buy dried kidney beans and grow them. I've germinated butterbeans from Tescos with no probs. They were about 4 years old in a jar too
never measured my yield, but just for you I'll do it this year with the pea beans and the borlottis  ;D

oh thanks rhubarb, but only if its not to much of a bother ;). so did the lima beans grow ok and give a good crop, any tips such as sowing time, etc.

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

it was only a test of germination with those limas. They germinated in about 3-4 days. Like I said, they were years old
The limas i'm growing are from Seeds of Italy, smaller and speckly, not like the butterbean we know. Seed pods are quite big, but hardly any bean inside, so they may come to nothing, Healthy plants though
I'm oop North by the way, climate-wise

[thifasmom]

it was only a test of germination with those limas. They germinated in about 3-4 days. Like I said, they were years old
The limas I'm growing are from Seeds of Italy, smaller and speckly, not like the butterbean we know. Seed pods are quite big, but hardly any bean inside, so they may come to nothing, Healthy plants though
I'm oop North by the way, climate-wise

hm thanks for the info i think what I'll do is grow my red/ kidney beans from the store seeds in between the squashes and test out the lima beans in a small patch up a wigwam. only way to find out is to try isn't it :-\. thanks again rhubarb for the info.

[cleo]

white emergo

I have been singing the praise of these today on the beeb-both gardening and  food.

If you like butter beans like you have never tasted before-that`s the one

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

White emergo is a runner bean

[cleo]

I  know-but let the seeds develop and take them semi dry when the pods turn brown

[thifasmom]

I  know-but let the seeds develop and take them semi dry when the pods turn brown

i found out by accident how smooth and nutty runnerbeans could be, by waiting to long to pick my crop this year, mmm! lovely taste and texture. everyone loved them so we have been leaving them to mature a bit more before picking them, meant a smaller crop but taste wise made it worthwhile. plus we had lots of other things to harvest.

[flowerofshona2007]

Im going to put a bean that i want to dry in the 3 sisters bed as i found it hard to pick beans in that patch and that way i can take them out at the end of the season.

Ok im going to ask a stupid question now  ::)
If i pick beans fresh and use them in casseroles ect do i still have to soak them and drain as with dried beans to get rid of the toxins ???? (this has bean making my brain hurt and i only have the one poor cell !!)