Topic: more beans

[ACE]

Just having a rest and a coffee after shucking loads of the ying yang beans. Another six hours and they might all be done. Most are five to the pod some are less, but a few have been giving six to a pod. So next years seed have been saved from the sixers in the hope that next year I'll increase the yield. Hopeful thinking I expect but if you don't try you won't know. I love these little beans for their colour as well as their taste.


 

[Tee Gee]

Nice crop Ace what variety are they?

Years ago I grew them and new them as " Killer Whale" beans because of their colouring!

[ACE]

They were a couple of pods 'obtained' from Wisley gardens about 10 years ago. No name as they were on trial. I have always called them Ying Yang beans. Some are a definite ying yang shape in the colour but I expect a bit of cross pollination has gone on over the years as there is now a bit of purple speckle on a few of them. Great beans, eat them as mange tout at the start, string beans, then green podded or dried for storage.

[mat]

The black and white are often known as "yang yang" the red and white as "pea bean"

I bought some pea beans this year though from the organic garden catalogue and got a mix... hey ho!  Nice crop there  :)

[ACE]

Finished podding them, took a few hours. I planted a 48 module tray last spring, must have lost a couple but I have just weighed in nearly 4 kilos before they go in the drier, plus we were eating them earlier in the year as mange tout  in salads and using them as cut beans while waiting for the runner beans to produce.

[johhnyco15]

yes they do retain their colour after cooking this little lot will be going in a chilli tomorrow

[ACE]

I done a bit of research and yes they are Pea Beans, I never really worried about a name until you all got interested. They must have been at Wisley  for a  trial so they could get an RHS Garden Merit certificate. I do not know if they ever did get it though. The RHS do a stirling job in testing for taste, yield, hardiness etc and I often look for the sign on packets of seed because you know it is not a load of bunkum as put out by some seed companies. Some of the most experienced gardeners work for the RHS and if your allotment society want an outing, Wisley is a really good place to head to. Be quick though some nasty plans afoot. Have a gander at the link.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/en-gb/takeaction/372/679/924/

[galina]

I agree, Pea Beans do really well here too and yield well.  I think I first had them from Heritage Seed Library, but for a while they have been commercially available too.  Certainly the Organic Catalogue has been stocking them. 

Have been to Wisley a couple of times and it is a wonderful place.  Of course I signed the petition not to take land away for road building.  This is an important place for the nation. 

The test field is especially fascinating, especially as harvest time approaches and you can see the plants and varieties in full swing.  The only slight proviso is the vast difference in soil and climate there compared to ours here.  We all know from your reports, Ace and Johhnyco15 what difference a southern UK climate makes.  I like to know which varieties can deal with much harsher conditions, so take their test results with a bit of caution.

It also matters that they are brilliant full-time gardeners.  Whereas, speaking strictly for myself  , I would need an index on which varieties can deal with imperfect watering, well meaning but probably erratic fertilising and a lumpy clay soil that stubbornly stays lumpy despite decades of improvements and cracks in summer, also a windy and somewhat overshaded site.  Would love to see the testing ground for veg under difficult conditions.  What does well here, has definitely earned its keep, not been mollycoddled into giving superior yields.  Having said that, I really would recommend Wisley and the trial grounds to anybody.  It's an eye-opener and also a wonderful area for a peaceful walk.    

[mat]

I first got pea beans (vid this forum) by a kind lady in I think America... way back in 2006... I also grew ying yang the same year. They grew well over here for a few years. Sadly had to stop for a few years, but restarted gardening this year so got a pack from the organic catalogue, but the quality is no way as good. I'll see what mine are like shortly and try and build up some better ones again.  I don't have many this year, just did a few.

[ancellsfarmer]

Thanks ACE for publicising this, hopefully more signatures to help. The following link shows the layout. Note that the land to the east is the former BAC testground known as Wisley airfield previously sought as a brownfield site for housing development, and which one might suppose ,will require suitable infrastructure regarding access. It could be that the thought that to encroach will make development MORE likely; therefore the loss of a few trees is incidental. Fine view of those fortunate enough to already have a house!
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/RHS+Garden+Wisley/@51.3093976,-0.4729734,1475m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x8900c05a802dae03!8m2!3d51.311977!4d-0.476904

[BarriedaleNick]

Great beans, eat them as mange tout at the start, string beans, then green podded or dried for storage.

I was going to ask what how you ate them - is there a variety that we could buy that is similar.

[BAK]

I grew them for a number of years. They also came from a trial. I also tried to find out what they were, only knowing them as ying yang. My limited investigations came up with calypso and orca as alternative names.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calypso_bean

[ACE]

I was going to ask what how you ate them - is there a variety that we could buy that is similar.

As I have been doing a bit of research into which beans I have got, The nearest I got to them  were Pea beans a heritage French climber. from Jungle Seeds who have them for sale. Unfortunately apart from the ones I saved for seed, the rest of the crop have been in the dehydrator or you could have had some for  growing. I don't know if fast drying stops them germinating.

[BarriedaleNick]

Cheers both..  Always nice to try something new and they look like a good value crop.

[Digeroo]

How hot do they get in the dehydrator?  I have put pods onto the radiator for drying and the germinate fine.   
Pea beans are rather small.   Can I suggest they might be a HSL variety called Inca. 

http://vivekagardens.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/IMG_56651.jpg

[ACE]

Inca, orca, pea bean, calypso, ying yang, li-pa, Anasazi and even more names. Depends on the seed seller or where in the world you come from.

[Digeroo]

I though ying yang and orca were black and white.

[mat]

I though ying yang and orca were black and white.

Yes they are, but some people online seem to use the names interchangeably.