Topic: Phew... started getting dry beans...

[galina]

Oh dear.... I've foudn a guy on ebay in the USA who ships to the UK and has a truly enormous collection of beans.... I really fancy a few more species (cos they'd hopefully not interbreed) and also some alternatives in the ones I do have.... as long as I grow one P. lunatus at home and one on the plot I should be OK, and ther are a variety of other ones out there..... hmm.....

Phaseolus lunatus, aka Lima bean, is very marginal in the UK and so are the other species, like tepary beans, ph. acutifolius, or Southern peas, aka cow peas or black-eye peas, vigna unguiculata.  Even soya beans, glycine max, need a good summer to really succeed well. 

Unfortunately mainland USA is located a lot further south than we are, which makes these more exotic bean types a bit hit and miss here although they thrive over there.  I wish you good luck with them - well much better luck than I had.

Which varieties are you planning to grow?

[chriscross1966]

I already grow Painted Lima, I was going to look at the other ones, probably King of the Garden... it lists as 90 days, though I might try to get soem Fordhook, it's supposed to be 75 days.

ALso some Money beans (they're English anyway but never seen them over here) and I might well have to restock the Soldier beans, I haven't seen any pods yet...

[galina]

I already grow Painted Lima, I was going to look at the other ones, probably King of the Garden... it lists as 90 days, though I might try to get soem Fordhook, it's supposed to be 75 days.

ALso some Money beans (they're English anyway but never seen them over here) and I might well have to restock the Soldier beans, I haven't seen any pods yet...

Very envious about the Limas.  Did you start them early?  60 days to maturity for Fordhook?  Should do ok here in twice the time :-).  Good luck for your soldier beans maturing too.  What species are they?

[chriscross1966]

I start most of my beans around the end of March in propagators in roottrainers (expensive but worth it), once they have hatched they go into pots of 50/50 soil and council compost and sit in the GH, in the warm bed (I have a 6x3 construction that is warmed by a 40 foot soil warming cable)... harden them off in May and plant out end of May/early June... Gigandas might start of a week or two earlier if they're going into the polytunnel or the GH... they don't crop that well indoors but they do crop early..... Fordhook is 75 days to maturity, so should be good in this country, it's used in northern USA... Soldier beans are P. vulgaris.

[galina]

I start most of my beans around the end of March in propagators in roottrainers (expensive but worth it), once they have hatched they go into pots of 50/50 soil and council compost and sit in the GH, in the warm bed (I have a 6x3 construction that is warmed by a 40 foot soil warming cable)... harden them off in May and plant out end of May/early June... Gigandas might start of a week or two earlier if they're going into the polytunnel or the GH... they don't crop that well indoors but they do crop early..... Fordhook is 75 days to maturity, so should be good in this country, it's used in northern USA... Soldier beans are P. vulgaris.

Thank you for the advice - will give limas another try.  Love butterbeans ........      :-)
Christmas Limas look very pretty, but they are not early sadly.