Allotments 4 All

My Meraviglia di Venezia has filled a really useful niche becoming at it's most prolific in the past two weeks or so and continuing, just as others are tailing off.

I know it's described as a 'late season' bean, but I'm not sure why?  Is it daylight sensitive or is it just that it needs a very long growing season?  It was certainly a slow climber to begin with - had me foxed for a bit, thought it might be a dwarf in the wrong packet.

Are there any other tall varieties that have a similar growth habit?

I didn't realise this was a "late" bean. I've grown it as normal for the last two seasons and it's been our best bean  :) Ours gave up about two weeks ago. Didn't notice that it took a particularly long time to fruit, though that's not what they mean by late.

Dwarf FBs are no problem sown late - I have some just starting to produce now

Do find that the french beans, dwarf or climber, tend to have misshapened pods late in the season. Insect damage I suppose

I tried Marvel of Venice aka meraviglia di Venezia twice from different seed sources and both times they were too late here.

I have a couple of other French Beans growing here for the first time which are late, Tobacco Worm and Genuine Cornfield.  Both are only just producing their first pods and very slowly too.  I think they don't usually need more time or are daylight sensitive, because they grow and produce normally in other climates.  I think it is  due to how much heat they want and don't get here.  Both my TW and GC need to go in the greenhouse next time.

This is probably where MDV would be happy too.  I have not persisted with MDV here, because I received another yellow variety in a swap shortly after, Lilaschecke, which does everything MDV promises, but well in time to harvest and save seed.

Marvel of Venice is (according to one description I have read) is particularly suited to wine-growing areas.  For most of Britain they are marginal.

Quote from: galina on September 20, 2010, 10:50:35
Marvel of Venice is (according to one description I have read) is particularly suited to wine-growing areas.  For most of Britain they are marginal.

so the wine growing areas of sussex and kent should be good then  ;)

I have never had a problem with Marvel of Venice except the snails like them.    They grow very well on my rather dry but sunny allotment. 

Major Cook is very late.  I grew it for the first time last year and after weeks and weeks all I had was a mountain of leaves.  The flowers are very small so I did not notice them much at all and then suddenly by September the plants were absolutely dripping in beans. 

Quote from: 1066 on September 20, 2010, 15:08:38

Quote from: galina on September 20, 2010, 10:50:35
Marvel of Venice is (according to one description I have read) is particularly suited to wine-growing areas.  For most of Britain they are marginal.

so the wine growing areas of sussex and kent should be good then  ;)

Presumably yes, although I am sure what they meant was the climate and sunshine that makes the difference between wine growing areas and non wine growing areas.  Just another way of saying that these beans want warmth to do welll.

OK, strange - they do say not to expect them til September or even October some places so that's what I expected and what I got.  Perhaps if I'd expected them earlier they might have grown faster  :D

There's a massive grape vine here - I eat them all through September....

I always have trouble with late dwarfs Bugloss though I'd like to every year; I either don't have the space or the time or the weather or earth with anything left in it especially some moisture.  Nice idea though.

i can't see how this bean normally takes such a long time to crop. The web catalogue I just looked at says you can sow a second lot in July. When they say "in July" I think they must mean "on July 1st, in the morning"  :)

MDV have always been late for me and poor too in conditions where other beans thrive.

They did OK this year but it happened to be their turn for the best soil in the garden.

Cheers.

Quote from: galina on September 20, 2010, 15:44:54

Quote from: 1066 on September 20, 2010, 15:08:38

Quote from: galina on September 20, 2010, 10:50:35
Marvel of Venice is (according to one description I have read) is particularly suited to wine-growing areas.  For most of Britain they are marginal.

so the wine growing areas of sussex and kent should be good then  ;)

Presumably yes, although I am sure what they meant was the climate and sunshine that makes the difference between wine growing areas and non wine growing areas.  Just another way of saying that these beans want warmth to do welll.

;D  ;D  ;D - I'm just ever the optimist  :D

San Antonio and Borlotti Firetongue are both pretty late.... they're the last plants with significant beans on from my assorted P. vulgaris this year, the only other ones that are left are Limas (P. Lunatus) and Giganda (probably a P. Coccineus)

Having written which beans are (almost) too late for here, these are not.  Definitely  follow on beans - can one say 'second early' or is that just a potato term?  Anyway I was really pleased this year with my tall growing pea beans (Jack Edwards from HSL) and also with the Cherokee Trail of Tears which are still going strong and lastly with Kentucky Wonder.  Both ToT and KYW have strings, but good long yields here and coming in when the earlies are trailing off.

Apart from some Speedies grown in pots that spent six weeks in the GH before finally moving out, a handful of Cobras that I didn't look after very well but got enough beans off to remind me why I grow them, and a late sowing of Arranesco that will do me from now till the frosts all the beans I grow are shelling ones.

Thanks for all the late bean recs - I'll look into them.

I wonder where you are in the UK Galina?  I get the impression my climate is not the same.

Yes..my cherokees are still cropping...and cosse violets have some on too...
This post was about tall ones..but I have mention that I did sow some bush type back in July..and those are just full of beans right now.. ;D...and will go on as they are still flowering too...but I do not dare cropping them for eating this year...for seed only.. ;) ;) ;) ;D

In the end, it's all very unpredictable......I'm now cropping Purple Queen dwarf, sown in May and only cropped very modestly in July, but put on a lot of beans past few weeks whilst my back was turned......blimey they taste great as a very poddy one, nearly dry - but I must leave some for seed.......... :P

Quote from: earlypea on September 22, 2010, 07:48:35
Thanks for all the late bean recs - I'll look into them.

I wonder where you are in the UK Galina?  I get the impression my climate is not the same.

Northants/Beds border on the top of a ridge where it is a bit cooler/windier than in the surrounding more sheltered areas.  MIL who lives two miles away, a bit lower and more sheltered by houses has a warmer microclimate.  Our big plus is that frost does not linger as long and runs off towards lower grounds, which benefits winter gardening.  Unfortunately we  get late frosts in early June some years and anything planted out that survives them, takes ages to pick up again and grow away.

Do you really eat outdoor grapes during September where you are?  Our greenhouse ones are just about getting sweet now.