While i was over the allotment yesterday, i found a load of runner beans on the dump.
I took some seeds from the dry pods that were approx 8" long and they were a beautiful purple colour with a rich black spots.
I would like to grow them next year but wondered what type of runner bean they are.
Is purple and black spots a common look for a runner bean seed?
Neil
thats the colour of mine, not sure if they are all the same though ???.
Do you know the name?
I know a couple of people are growing Red Rum and Aintree
Neil
Rotbluhende (The Teenie Beanie) from Thompson & Morgan.
but i didn't realise that the were going to be so short only 6'' long so i kept underestimating when to pick them, which meant that a few times we got a lot of stringy ones or some that were so well developed we harvested the seeds for stew making instead.
they were also slow to crop ( possibly due to blackfly infestation) but bonus they are still cropping now (quite heavily) when there aren't any beans cropping in the garden. so will not be growing them again as a main crop but maybe as a later crop for autumn harvest until late frosts wipe them out.
Some of my runner bean seeds are totally white :(, while others are the usual purple and black colours ???
Purple and black is the most common: Scarlet Emperor (one of the most popular) are purple but with a lot of black, Enorma (another popular one) are purple with small black flecks.
I wonder if white seeds go with white flowers :)
Quote from: Barnowl on October 22, 2008, 11:55:57
I wonder if white seeds go with white flowers :)
White Emergo does - white flowers, white beans.
They might be Scarlet Emperor then.
(http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x296/nilly71/allotment/22102008757.jpg)
I have polestar ( nearly all black) Galaxy (purple black flecks) enorma (purple brown with black flecks ) and streamline which look like the bean above but have longer pods than the ones you mentioned. they do look like Scarlet emperor ;D (which iI have as well but I am a member of SAA and am trying to curb my habit ;D ) but may not be but dose it really matter for any thing other that curiosity's sake :-\ you know there runner bean and there free ;) wish I could find something like that ;D ;D ;D
Off topic but blimey I've been slow - until I saw there was a bean called Aintree I assumed Red Rum were called that because they would have red flowers. I didn't make the 'runner' connection. :)