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Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: AndrewB on April 21, 2007, 09:47:12

Title: Borlotti beans
Post by: AndrewB on April 21, 2007, 09:47:12
How high do they grow?  and what type of support is best?  Any growing tips?

cheers
Title: Re: Borlotti beans
Post by: Jeannine on April 21, 2007, 10:14:20
Come two types. Dwarf , so grow them as regular bush beans,they will self support.

Climbers,grow like runner beans 10-12 feet if they have something that tall to climb up,if it is shorter they just grab what they can,

I have a fixed fence accross my lottie 22feet x 8 feet high. It is a metal framework that has bamboo poles attached to it every few inches at the top and then down into the ground. I plant one plant at the bottom by each pole. I used to have a grid of wires  up and down and sideways  of wires but this works better.

You can make a  frame of bamboo in a circle and tether them together at the top, the beans will form a tepee as they grow.

Someone will have pictures of a bean tepee I am sure.

XX Jeannine
Title: Re: Borlotti beans
Post by: AndrewB on April 21, 2007, 17:44:38
thanks for that
Title: Re: Borlotti beans
Post by: Deb P on April 24, 2007, 08:42:52
I used my variegated beech tree as a support to grow Borlotti beans over last year. It worked really well, and looked like a beany Christmas tree in late summer!

Here is an early photo, you can see the beans growing in a large pot at the base of the tree just starting to climb... ;D

(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l47/dlp133/Gardenandallotmentsjuly06003.jpg)
Title: Re: Borlotti beans
Post by: Squashmad on April 24, 2007, 08:45:39
Love the photo Deb - looks like a great spot to sit and look at your crops with a cuppa.  :D
Title: Re: Borlotti beans
Post by: AndrewB on April 24, 2007, 17:09:49
Thanks, I wasn't sure whether they are low growing like french beans or climbers like runners
Title: Re: Borlotti beans
Post by: Deb P on April 24, 2007, 19:11:33
As Jeannine says, you have to be careful as there are two types, mine were climbers, I haven't tried the dwarf type (yet!). ;D
Title: Re: Borlotti beans
Post by: Jeannine on April 24, 2007, 19:26:37
Just to confuse you further a great many French beans are climbers and some dwarf beans are runners !! XX Jeannine
Title: Re: Borlotti beans
Post by: manicscousers on April 24, 2007, 19:40:03
tried dwarf ones last year, slugs got the bottom of some of the pods, what we got were nice, though, trying climbers this year, we might get more ;D
Title: Re: Borlotti beans
Post by: AndrewB on April 24, 2007, 21:14:17
Think I'll stick them under a wigwam and see what happens
Title: Re: Borlotti beans
Post by: BAK on April 25, 2007, 08:39:42
do you know what the variety is?