2018 Little Easy Bean Network - Join Us In Saving Amazing Heirloom Beans

[flowerbug]

@aftermidnight re APS:

i've never seen them, but if someone were to send them to me i'd keep them going and send them around.

 

[flowerbug]

Ok, I've finally gotten the courage to ask my question on Scarlet Runner Beans. I've only grown them for their orange flowers and for the pretty bean seed. We like to use them in our art/craft projects. Are they edible at all as a green bean? If so, I must admit that the fuzzy pod turns me off.

Mary

i recall picking some when they were young and they were ok cooked. i didn't plant any this year or i could verify that again...

 

[aftermidnight]

@ninnymary that's the only way I've eaten them, as a green bean but others have used them as you would dry beans. Over in the U.K. they are mostly used as green beans. Being my family is from England this was their bean of choice to grow. Look at T&Morgan UK and you'll see they have many varieties listed.
As a kid I could hardly wait for that first feed of runners, YUM..
Most have to be stringed and have a different texture then the beans you are used to but I really love the flavor. Also they have to be picked when young before the seed forms or barely forms. I like to french them before steaming.
They like a cooler climate but there is one that takes a bit of heat it's Insuck's Wang Kong, They originally came from Jim Wright in Washington he named them after his wife. I think Sandhill Preservation has them listed. Whereas APS's you have to get a start from other gardeners.
There are other varieties of runners that are good as green beans but for me it's the Aeron Purple Star, it does lose the purple color when cooked but this one is stringless has a lovely flavor with a touch of sweetness. Not the best pic but gives you an idea of the pod color.

Runners are very promiscuous so if you want to keep them true only grow one variety of runner in any given year and hope if your neighbor is also growing the same variety.
Annette

 

[Zeedman]

have you grown that variety of edamame before? i've had good crops from the ones i've grown if i can get the plants to survive past groundhog/chipmunk/rabbit raids.

Both varieties (Natsu Kurakake and Gardensoy 24) have been grown several times, with predictably good results both here & in the rural plot. Bees were working the blossoms too, so I'm a little mystified about the poor set. I normally grow a lot more varieties each year (about 20-25), but mostly on the rural plot which was fallow this year, and have seldom had any problems with them.

Soybeans are like candy to all herbivores, so all of my plots are fenced to keep out rabbits & deer. Without that fencing, maintaining my soybean collection would be impossible. I only occasionally have trouble, when a groundhog digs under the fence; but that is only every 4-5 years, and I usually trap them before they cause severe damage.

 

[aftermidnight]

@flowerbug all my seed is in the freezer, I know others on this forum have them so wait and see if someone your side of the border will offer up a few. If not I'll gladly send you a start, so far I've had good luck sending to the states but there's no guarantee. If no bites PM me your snail mail addy and I'll fish a few out of the freezer.
Annette

 

[Zeedman]

AERON PURPLE STAR Just a heads up, This stringless purple podded runner bean unless you already have seed might not be available from it's original source in the future.
I just noticed seed wasn't being offered for 2019. The Welsh man who bred this wonderful sweet runner hasn't been well of late and his good friend who grew his APS's in isolation for him passed away suddenly in January (he had a small holdings in Devon UK and had just joined our forum).
I grew up eating runner beans, actually they were the only fresh beans we had. The APS's are by far the best runner variety I have ever eaten so, those of you that are lucky enough to have seed for these please grow and share seed with others.
It would be such a shame to lose this wonderful runner variety. The man who bred these put his heart and soul into perfecting them. All he asks is they be grown by amateur gardeners, they keep the name Aeron Purple Star and not be sold commercially.

Annette

Annette, it had been my intention to grow APS this year; but because of my surgery, I didn't feel I could give them the attention they deserved. That turned out to be a good call - the squirrels would have destroyed them all, as they did with my entire first planting of Tarahumara Tekomari. I still have a large backup supply from my first attempt, which had a few plants with green pods... I saved seed only from purple-podded plants. Chances are that saved seed still has some crosses; but if the pure seed you sent fails, I should still be able to select back to the pure purple-podded strain from that. I've had good results selecting crossed runner bean varieties back to their original characteristics (I'm currently trying to isolate a gray-seeded, lima-like strain from Tarahumara Tekomari).

 

[Zeedman]

Ok, I've finally gotten the courage to ask my question on Scarlet Runner Beans. I've only grown them for their orange flowers and for the pretty bean seed. We like to use them in our art/craft projects. Are they edible at all as a green bean? If so, I must admit that the fuzzy pod turns me off.

Mary

They are good as both snaps, and as large shelly beans; but perform best as snaps in cooler climates... which you have. In the 80's I gardened for a couple years in E. Palo Alto (next to Stevens Creek, I believe) and the Bay Area is perfect for cool-weather crops like runner beans. The texture, I admit, takes getting used to; firmer & meatier than the snaps from most common beans. They are best picked young. The best bet for that would be to grow some of the modern European cultivars (particularly from the U.K.) where breeders have developed varieties specifically for use as snaps. The generic "Scarlet Runner" sold for ornamental purposes is usually poorly suited for anything else.

If you like butterbean limas, you might also be interested in trying the very large seeds of runner beans as fresh shelly beans. The white-seeded varieties are best for that purpose, such as Gigandes, Bianco de Spagna, and Piekny Jas. The original source for the heirloom Insuk's Wang Kong even enjoys using runner beans as dry beans (something I have yet to try personally).

 

[aftermidnight]

.@Zeedman , Like you the first time I grew them I had some green pods and a few green flushed purple.The last seed I sent you were grown in Devon in isolation, when I grew these, all purple pods. You should have better luck with those. Still the greenies as they have been nic-named are still good eating.
Annette

 

[Zeedman]

@aftermidnight I'm pretty sure that I could rogue out the "greenies" early based upon stem color. It might take a couple years, though, so I hope it doesn't come to that. Barring the unforeseen, the pure APS will be grown out next year. I'll be using transplants, to minimize the chances of loss due to poor germination (which I don't anticipate) or squirrel damage.

It occurs to me... just how much distance is really required for pure seed? Humingbirds are very active on my runner beans, and they have quite a flight range. I hope they are inefficient at transferring pollen.

 

[thejenx]

@aftermidnight I'm growing APS for the 1st time, got the seed from Aeron last year. From 12 seeds ive got 5 plants, and a few big pods that are purple but still green. Some plants are finally setting mini pods. That is mainly from the drought we're having since may in combination with a heatwave.

I've got bush beans that are done, all the dry seed is shelled. While some pole beans still need to produce any flowers! The were at a standstill for months. I can only hope they will produce a few dry seeds so I can try again next year.
Also next year I will try to start a few of each variety much earlier and risk freezing or a cold spell. This year I held on to traditional planting times.