Topic: Best beans

[pigeonseed]

I grew loads of beans this year, and I think the most stunning on the plant were the 'Portuguese' from HSL -

But my favourites for eating were Monastic Coco, which were kindly given me by AJ. (Thanks AJ!!  :) :))

The pods are dull dirty pale green, so once you open a pod the red and white beans are a nice surprise. They're quite floury textured, and taste very nice. My kids love them and call them magic wish beans. They believe they can make a wish with each one they eat.

What was your favourite bean this year?

[aj]

Yay - glad you liked them

They are one of my faves as well.  ;D

[pigeonseed]

And they were the earliest as well - they were producing beans in mid-summer, when the other French beans were barely climbing the poles. Are they always like that?

[Duke Ellington]

I always love my Borlotti Beans and Ninnys gave me some Safari Beans which were excellent!! 

Duke

[macmac]

Love borlotti beans  :)
This year we grew some french which frankly weren't very good,they are setting seed  because I stopped picking as they weren't good.Question I obviously don't want to repeat them next year so could I dry the beans and use in soups etc like borlottie s ?

[aj]

And they were the earliest as well - they were producing beans in mid-summer, when the other French beans were barely climbing the poles. Are they always like that?

Not up here, but they were bred in West Malling for years so down there is perfect for them.

The first year I tried them I couldn't squeeze beans out of them; every year since they have been one of the best producers. Glad I persevered.

[antipodes]

I stopped growing the shelling beans as I like them half dried but never picked them at the right time. I like borlotti though when I can get them!
I had Safari this year and they were pretty good, but my faves are Cobra, climbers but not too high, about 5 feet. Excellent flavour and never stringy even when they get too big.
Next year I want to try runner beans for the first time but I will have to get in some bamboo or other structure before I can do that!

[chriscross1966]

Love borlotti beans  :)
This year we grew some french which frankly weren't very good,they are setting seed  because I stopped picking as they weren't good.Question I obviously don't want to repeat them next year so could I dry the beans and use in soups etc like borlottie s ?

Yes, when the pod starts to go leathery then you can shell them out and freeze them or leave them to dry, but dried beans need soaking overnight... fresh but frozen "wet" beans only take half an hour or so to cook and need no soaking, so freeze in small portions to add to things....

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've been pleasantly surprised by Black Magic runner beans. I'd expected them to be stringy, but as long as they're picked small, they're tender and tasty.

[pigeonseed]

This year we grew some french which frankly weren't very good,they are setting seed  because I stopped picking as they weren't good. Question I obviously don't want to repeat them next year so could I dry the beans and use in soups etc like borlottie s

I've mostly left all the French beans for shelling this year, as everyone gets a bit sick of green beans in our house. I have to say I just love shelling beans. Which is a good thing as I grew rather a lot...  ::)

I've never tried Borlotti - everyone swears by them. I think the Portuguese is a relative, its beans have a similar speckled look.

I've been pleasantly surprised by Black Magic runner beans.

The mature beans look amazing from photos I've seen. Why did you choose that variety, if you didn't expect much from it? (if I might ask without sounding rude?)

[powerspade]

I grown "Canadian Wonder" French Dwarf Beans to get a harvest of pods 3 weeks before the Runners. the Runners I grow "Enorma" which were rubbish this year. I`m going to try out "Borlotto Beans" next year as I can see so many like them. I always grow one "new to me" seed every year.                     

[Deb P]

Safari DFB were very good again this year, and the Barlotti climbers did well. Also a good suprise was Sunbright runner, it is a much later bean and is still looking good on the wigwam, so worth growing for decorative effect if nothing else! I will have to save some seed beans though this year, most seed companies seem to be not listing it this year....

[woodypecks]

I've been pleasantly surprised by Black Magic runner beans. I'd expected them to be stringy, but as long as they're picked small, they're tender and tasty.

This year I picked the runner beans at a much smaller stage , about the size that folk normally pick French beans ...and they were SO much nicer !   :)

[woodypecks]

..oops sorry ....yes ..I grew Crusader Runner beans  which weren,t as good as Enorma ( which I normally grow ) and Blue Lake French beans..which were brilliant .    Debs 

[pigeonseed]

Yes I like blue lake too. Sunbright - what a beautiful name.

[Kea]

I like cobra but because I have a windswept plot I decided to try some dwarf beans this year. I grew Safari and Tendergreen. I will grow safari again next year, very similar to cobra, tender and straight!!!...I actually got a placing at our Flower and Produce show with them. They are held up above the plant so they keep off the soil and are easy to see and pick. I wasn't that keen on the Tendergreen, didn't like the faint stripes they don't look as nice and were a bit stringy, the pods look dirty as well.

[Robert_Brenchley]

This year I picked the runner beans at a much smaller stage , about the size that folk normally pick French beans ...and they were SO much nicer !   :)

I couldn't agree more. I grew Painted Lady years ago, picked them at the size I remembered my father picking beans, and they weren't nice at all. These are good up to about a foot long, then they start getting a bit coarse.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've been pleasantly surprised by Black Magic runner beans.

The mature beans look amazing from photos I've seen. Why did you choose that variety, if you didn't expect much from it? (if I might ask without sounding rude?)

I got them from a seed swap, they looked good, and I originally planned to use them as dried beans.