they must be magic

[qahtan]

sad harvest this year,,, even runner beans it was way too hot for them though we had tons of flowers, then about a week ago they started to bean, and we pick a large handful every day, it's amazing how they grow in 24 hours,,, they must be magic....  :) :)  glad we didn't miss out altogether... qahtan......

[qahtan]

[Denzle]

It does suprise me at times.   

I go out and pick the ones suitable and think I have them all.

Then the following day a load more are waiting to be picked.   Like you say 24 hrs makes a big difference in the size.

They just keep coming and coming.  In fact we hadn't finished those in the freezer from last year when this years crop were ready for picking.

On the other hand though, it pleases those that I give them to.   ;)

[Bugloss2009]

are runner beans common in your part of the world, qahtan? I thought they were peculiarly British

[muddylou]

are runner beans common in your part of the world, qahtan? I thought they were peculiarly British

By coincidence I was watching an old GW edition last night, they said Runner Beans originate from Central America.

Picked a load last night, chucked some of the tough ones on the compost heap.

[qahtan]

 On this side of Canada some people do grow them, but mostly for the
(lovely flowers)  I don't think they eat the bean as we Brits do. They grow a crappy green  or yellow bean that they snap to cook, it's a round bean with not much of a flavour, we never have them,,,,,,
I think it's the heat in the summer that they don't like......qahtan

[Mrs Ava]

Mine are the same.  The slugs scoffed all of my young plants in the spring, so a second sowing was called for.  The old boys scoffed as they were picking beans and mine only had flower buds, but now when they have wripped theirs down, I am picking beans by the bucket load, and with this naf, chilly weather, they are perfect for tea.  The Borlotti beans on the other hand, planted at the same time as my first runners, the slug ingnored, and they are weighed down with huge pods of mottled beans.  I am letting them semi dry on the vine before picking, podding and freezing.

[qahtan]

What/how do you use/eat your podded beans, ,, thanks,,,, qahtan ???

[kippers garden]

are runner beans common in your part of the world, qahtan? I thought they were peculiarly British

By coincidence I was watching an old GW edition last night, they said Runner Beans originate from Central America.

Picked a load last night, chucked some of the tough ones on the compost heap.

Are the re-runs of gardeners world on sky?...i love watching old gardening programs and there are so few on tv now

[Digeroo]

I like my borlotti beans when they are nice and fat but before they go mealy.  Its a bit like broad beans there is a window when they are nice and tender and sweet, I then just boil or steam them. Delicious.

I luckily had french bean Mrs Lewis's to bean me through the heat of July and the Runners finally went into major production mid August, the June sowed ones started in September and the July sown ones are just producing their first beans. 

St George produce more beans than most when it was hot.  The new bean Moonlight was supposed to be good in heat but the flowers fell off, but when it cooled off it went into major production.

And in four colourways runner beans are sp well worthy of the flower garden but I would not miss out eating them.

[Mrs Ava]

I love my beans in soups, stews, chillis and in home made tomato sauce with pasta.  Yum.  I do the same with runners when they have swollen and gone woody, I cut them open, take out the beans and cook them as another veg.  Waste not want not.

[gwynleg]

'I go out and pick the ones suitable and think I have them all. Then the following day a load more are waiting to be picked.'

I sort of think that the beans hide from me and try to approach from different angles to find them. I did think I was maybe going a bit far when I found myself creeping up on the beans to catch them out!!

[Digeroo]

I sort of think that the beans hide from me

I am sure this is true I look daily for beans and still find ones too tough to eat.  I need a purple podded runner.

[GrannieAnnie]

On this side of Canada some people do grow them, but mostly for the
(lovely flowers)  I don't think they eat the bean as we Brits do. They grow a crappy green  or yellow bean that they snap to cook, it's a round bean with not much of a flavour, we never have them,,,,,,
I think it's the heat in the summer that they don't like......qahtan

We eat runner beans (pole beans) down here in Delaware. I plant them every year though a lot of folks plant bush beans which I find harder to pick. It was a so-so year for them for some reason.

[Digeroo]

Are you sure we are talking about the same thing?  I thought pole beans were climbing versions of french beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), , ie the same cultivar as dwarf beans. 

For us runner beans are Phaseolus coccineus also known as the scarlet runner.  (Though you can get flowers in white, salmon pink and red/white bicolour as well.)  They need bees for pollination and in hot weather the flowers drop off and do not set so there are no beans produced.  In the US the most commonly available runner I think is Scarlet Emperor.  But here we have loads of different varieties on offer. 

[Bugloss2009]

What/how do you use/eat your podded beans, ,, thanks,,,, qahtan ???

it's a funny thing with runner beans being supposedly popular here, in all my recipe books i only have 1 recipe which uses green runner beans- they're shredded lengthways to go with linguine pasta. Nothing special, and of course you'd have to use big stringy beans for it

[pigeonseed]

What a nice bonus at the end of the season, qahtan!

I like my borlotti beans when they are nice and fat but before they go mealy.  Its a bit like broad beans there is a window when they are nice and tender and sweet, I then just boil or steam them. Delicious.

As you mention it, do you mind if I ask, is steaming beans as good as boiling, for getting rid of that toxin they have? Or maybe borlotti beans don't even have it in them.

I know that they say kidney beans must be boiled for 10 mins, so I've done that with haricots and runners and then added them to whatever dish at the end.

Just wondering about borlotti - I'm tempted to try them some time.

[goodlife]

I've always boiled my borlotties before adding to any dishes ???..as I've understood all beans have the toxin in them.. ???
But yes..do try some borlotti..so nice and chunky..have got some seed?..I've got plenty for you to try if you need some ;)

[GrannieAnnie]

Are you sure we are talking about the same thing?  I thought pole beans were climbing versions of french beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), , ie the same cultivar as dwarf beans. 

For us runner beans are Phaseolus coccineus also known as the scarlet runner.  (Though you can get flowers in white, salmon pink and red/white bicolour as well.)  They need bees for pollination and in hot weather the flowers drop off and do not set so there are no beans produced.  In the US the most commonly available runner I think is Scarlet Emperor.  But here we have loads of different varieties on offer. 

Oh Okay. I thought they were the same thing. We grow pole beans though I have grown runners that had pretty purple and whitish flowers- very pretty and huge pods but didn't eat them because they looked tough.

[qahtan]

 Runners are Scarlet Runners, with scarlet flowers and green beans that have purple and black beans inside. yummy.....
Wait all year for runners, such a short season. ;-(((( qahtan

[chriscross1966]

What a nice bonus at the end of the season, qahtan!

I like my borlotti beans when they are nice and fat but before they go mealy.  Its a bit like broad beans there is a window when they are nice and tender and sweet, I then just boil or steam them. Delicious.

As you mention it, do you mind if I ask, is steaming beans as good as boiling, for getting rid of that toxin they have? Or maybe borlotti beans don't even have it in them.

I know that they say kidney beans must be boiled for 10 mins, so I've done that with haricots and runners and then added them to whatever dish at the end.

Just wondering about borlotti - I'm tempted to try them some time.

I think they should, it denatures at well below boiling point of water and will be gone in 10- minutes..... , the thing is in a boiling operation the water is carrying it away and getting rid of it as well..... I eat a lot of shelled beans (I'm a veggie, they're a major protein source for me) and I've always just used boiling... 10 minutes if they're fresh, until they're soft if they're soaked and dried, always works fiune.... why use steaming?... It's not like there's a lot of particularly fragile vitamins in there....

chrisc