Topic: beans

[ACE]

As my diet has a lot beans nowadays, I thought I would increase my crop with some different varieties. They all taste the same to me no matter what their shape or colour so which ones do the best?  I know (lima) butter beans need more warmth than we get but what about all the others and those big bags of dried beans from the grocers would they grow if they were planted or are they treated or dried too much. I've got all the runners, broadies and french types sorted, it is the ones they use in cooking as seeds I need to know about.

[antipodes]

Hello Ace,   In France they eat several types of beans not as dried but as semi dried (you wait till the pod has shrivelled and the beans inside have swelled but then you cook them soon after harvesting).  I find they are very tasty liek that, but you can also dry them too for winter. The Coco de Paimpol is a nice white bean. And there are all the Borlottis too.

[Digeroo]

Beans from Grocer normally grow but they are not necessarily maximised for our climate.
The real expert on growing beans for drying is Chriscross unfortunately he has not been on board recent.
Major Cook is very good, does not produce the wind problems of other beans, makes very good baked beans.

[galina]

Ace, a very acceptable lima bean (butter bean) replacement is a runner bean that has been left to develop way beyond the stage that the pod is edible.  After all that is what the famous Greek Gigantes beans are.  Any runnerbean will do, especially any white seeded varieties, but RealSeeds are selling the real deal:
http://www.realseeds.co.uk/runnerbeans.html

[Tee Gee]

Ace the best bean on the market in my opinion is Cobra, a stringless pencil podded bean.

With careful sowing you can successionally  crop them three or four times a season, particularly if you grow them under cover, you might be able to get 3 crops on the IOW

[johhnyco15]

Ace the best bean on the market in my opinion is Cobra, a stringless pencil podded bean.

With careful sowing you can successionally  crop them three or four times a season, particularly if you grow them under cover, you might be able to get 3 crops on the IOW

for me the best tasting bean is hunter a flat french bean great for slicing and freezes very well

[Tee Gee]

freezes very well

Although I freeze some I am not over fond of frozen veg its the smell that puts me off.

I used to add a bay leaf in the cooking to alleviate this situation but my Bay tree died on me and I have never got round to replacing it!

[Plot 18]

For green beans I like growing Trionfo Violetto  and for podded beans I like Spagno Bianco (nearly as big as the Greek Gigantes) and more reliable in my climate.
White Lady is IMO is the best of the runner beans for slicing.

[woodypecks]

I always grow the climbing French beans Blue Lake . ...the runners seem all pretty much the same to me , but I ,m growing Firestorm again this year . Dont like Broadbeans ..yuk ! 

[Duke Ellington]

My favourite are BORLOTTI beans lovely in stews and soups, can be eaten like French beans in the early stages. I also pod them mid way through the season and eat like broad beans and freeze the prodded beans for soups later👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[Jayb]

I'd try the mixed bag, you're in a nice warm spot,
As Antipodes says picking them at the 'shelly' stage for eating or freezing is good, the beans are more tender, plus it cuts the cooking time and no need to soak.