runner beans

[jesssands]

Hello, I have planted some runner beans as normal. But, also this year we had a packet of white lady runner bean seeds. Think they came free with something.
Now, my mother says they are not as nice as our usual ones (seed we've been planting year upon year, since as long as I can remember)

Anyone ever grown them and can say? I have about 24 plants of our old seed and 30 white lady ones in the garden x

[jesssands]

[Silverleaf]

I've never grown runner beans at all so I can't be helpful, but I'll be interested to hear what they turn out like.

[Pescador]

I grew them last year, and found the flavour very good, typical runner bean flavour.

[Silverleaf]

I think I've only eaten runners once, years ago now, and I don't remember what they're like. Do they taste much different from French beans, in general? I love French beans.

[Jayb]

Anyone ever grown them and can say?

I'd say go for it, I grew some I think 2 or 3 years ago, a good tasty bean, which I would grow again  Flowers are a lovely contrast to the red ones too. If you normally save your beans for seed it might be an issue if you want to keep yours pure, as Runners cross pollinate quite easily. If you are not too bothered you could well have some tasty hybrid beans growing next year!

[Digeroo]

I grew white lady in the past, I thought they were good on taste.

A really fresh runner bean, picked just at the right moment is lovely.  Not too small because they lack flavour and not too big because they go tough and stringy.  Then top and tail and slice and straight into boiling water with a thingy of butter in it , then serve with a light sprinkle of pepper.  No French bean I know comes even close.   

When it comes to supermarket ones I prefer the wide French beans.   Boughten ones are picked too late for my taste.  I prefer to eat within a few minutes of picking.

Not too late to start some now Silverleaf my MIL always sowed 6th June and always had wonderful beans.
I sow a batch beginning of July to keep them going until the frosts.

[Jayb]

I think I've only eaten runners once, years ago now, and I don't remember what they're like. Do they taste much different from French beans, in general? I love French beans.

Love, love runners Best eating green beans ever - IMHO. Just very beanie, very tasty and tender, simply gorgeous really! They are a bit of a faff to prepare and need to be picked regularly to avoid stringy or tough beans. But first bowl of the season with a thingy of butter melting on the top is way at the top of the crops! ( I even wrote thingy rather than thingy which the automatic censor changes!)

[Silverleaf]

Thanks! Okay, colour me interested, especially as they cross. Wouldn't it be fun to plant a few different types all together and see what happens?

I don't really have space in the legume bed (limited growing space here) but maybe I could put a few in a big pot like I'm doing for my French beans and peas for seed saving. Hmmm.

[Silverleaf]

Are the beans themselves good if you dry them?

[Jayb]

The seeds? Yes they are good dried, but I think because I love them so much as a green bean, I'm never going to have many that are going to get to being a shelly or dried bean. In the US they are pretty much only grown for use as a dried bean.

[galina]

Are the beans themselves good if you dry them?

Or shell and freeze - saves the faff of rehydrating.  Some types of Runnerbean, for example the Greek Gigandes, are o n l y meant for the beans themselves, not the pods.

[Silverleaf]

I do like dual or triple purpose beans!

And the gigandes beans also sound great. So now, decisions. Gigandes or a mixture of varieties that I'll let cross? I don't have room to isolate and it'd be a shame to cross gigandes really.

[galina]

I do like dual or triple purpose beans!

And the gigandes beans also sound great. So now, decisions. Gigandes or a mixture of varieties that I'll let cross? I don't have room to isolate and it'd be a shame to cross gigandes really.

There may be a decision to be made.  Allowing to cross both types with each other is of no issue, they will cross freely.  But you may decide to only let all long podded runnerbeans cross (beans for pods), or only those intended for beans inside (like Gigandes, Kaeferbohnen etc).  The second group has fatter, shorter, more fibrous pods, the former has long pods with less fibre.  This way you would not have a one size fits all purposes landrace, but two - each for a specific purpose.

Sorry Jess, a bit of thread drift here - why does your mother say they are not as nice?  Good to grow or nice to eat?  What is the problem with them?

[goodlife]

Although I do grow runners the usual way in ground...I do also grow few plants in buckets in back yard. As long as one keeps up with watering and feeding...they perform equally well to those in ground.
My mother grow runners in window boxes in her balcony, though she doesn't eat them but grow them only for 'bit' colour....and yes, she is always having to pick pods off to get more flowers.

I love eating beans...but runners do tend to have that bit of extra flavour...it is the extra bit of work with pods that often makes me eat and grow more French type beans...but I do dry and save huge amount of runner seed to be eaten in winter....and they are FAB!

[Pescador]

Right variety picked early, no need to string. Flavour if far superior in my opinion. Into boiling water, bring back to boil, drain and serve with butter

[Digeroo]

T&M are very enthusiastic about the flavour of white lady

http://search.thompson-morgan.com/seeds/Stringless%20Runner%20Beans

[willsy]

I grew the white flower ones 2 years ago, tried them and loved them. Strange eh? as I dont like the red flower ones.

[Silverleaf]

Sorry Jess, a bit of thread drift here

Yeah, that was my fault, sorry!

One last thing from me and then I'll shut up - with any luck I'll be getting the start of a little runner collection fairly soon, with the intention of letting them cross however they want and seeing what happens. I can't resist the let's-see-what-happens approach!

[squeezyjohn]

I grew a white variety last year called Czar - but I did so deliberately to make dried beans for winter stews and stuff.  I'm not growing those this year simply because the Gigandes beans (also runners) are so much nicer as a dried bean and seemed so tough and vigorous in comparison.

I'm afraid I really don't like the taste of runner beans as green beans so I can't comment on their taste as green ones ... I know I'm in a minority amongst growers ... I put it down to being force-fed them every meal all-glut long as a child right up until they become stringy with purple beans inside.  Sometimes a parent needs to learn when to stop pushing the frugal option if it might end up with a life-time of loathing!

[goodlife]

Sometimes a parent needs to learn when to stop pushing the frugal option if it might end up with a life-time of loathing!

Oh I do know what you mean...though my mum didn't have much options with cooking, my parents were quite tight with their budget at times when I was a kid. For me it was potatoes, I didn't dislike them, quite opposite, but when you get them each and every meal it can get quite tiring. Every now and then we would get pasta..."GREAT!"...but even there mum would manage to mix in small 'crumbles' of cooked potato spoiling the taste for whole culinary 'experience' .. When I left home, it took yeeeears for me to start cooking potoes for my dinners again.....hence my graving to grow and try all manner 'not so usual things'.
I can't say being traumatized, but definitely it has had effect to my eating habits and will have for rest of my life...
Oh, and now when mum comes to visit....she is 'plagued' with week of eating dinners that can be bit 'strange' and pushing her comfort zone... (not every meal!...I'm not that gruel  )