Topic: Butter Beans

[Kingfisher]

Hi all I was wondering if you could help me out my other half has just informed me that he wants me to grow
Butter Beans is there any one out there with some to spare that they could send me I am willing to swop for any other veg seed but time is running out and I would love to grow them for him many thanks Jan

[shirlton]

We wanted to grow butter beans(lima beans) but apparently our growing season is too short in the uk

[grannyjanny]

What about spagna beans? They can be planted until July. Still plenty of time to sow them.

[Kingfisher]

Have just bean  ::) looking at them on the Thomson & Morgan site but they charge as much for delivery as they do for the Beans   ::)

[Bugloss2009]

i'm growing lima beans. They're the ones from Seeds of Italy. They don't look quite like proper butter beans - they're coloured. I've grown them before OK, but they do need a long season, and they take a while to get started - they look a bit sorry for themselves now for instance

you could try some dried beans from the supermarket - they'll germinate for sure. Climber or bush, who knows?

Spagna beans are great. So easy to grow. Look like butter beans but are runners.

Can give you some if you want

[grannyjanny]

Bugloss what sort of a crop did you get & from how many plants please I'm thinking of saving them for Winter soups rather than runner beans.

[Bugloss2009]

I grow 20 plants, same number as ordinary runners for whole pods. The spagna beans are really vigorous and produce lots of pods. I used to dry the beans for the winter, but they sometimes went mouldy, so now I blanch and freeze them (soaking them first to deal with any beans that might have dried a bit on the plant)
They freeze well and don't fall to bits when you cook them. Great in stews, and say one pot brisket joint type meals. Also cooked with tomato, herbs etc a al Greeks do

[grannyjanny]

I'm salivating as I type ;).

[PurpleHeather]

Is it worth it (other than for fun).

In the UK dried beans are cheap enough but with our high fuel charges, cooking them costs more than the beans.  Tinned ones are just pence.  

I cook all sorts. Currently pulses in tins  from Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys etc are the cheapest way.

[Bugloss2009]

Don't much dry french beans  now.I use the fresh shelled beans which are otherwise unobtainable except in the tins from the supermarket, which aren't very nice (overcooked), and aren't that cheap either.

The spagna beans mostly go in stews, so the fuel cost is essentially nothing extra. I could never imagine not growing them now

if you worry about the cooking time for dried beans, use a pressure cooker

[jennym]

I seem to remember a similar question a couple of years ago. Someone recommended growing a white seeded runner bean, which were similar in taste and texture to butter beans. I had a go at these, they had pink flowers. I am not sure, think they were called Sunrise, anyhow they were very nice, you might want to try them.