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#16
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experience with Scarlet Runner Beans
"FarmerDill" wrote in message
I think you must have your beans mixed up. The name "Scarlet Runner" is the name that applies to phaseolus coccineus. Phaselos from greek for bean and coccineus is 'scarlet' in Latin.. Not really! The Scarlet Runner is a cultivar of P. coccineus ( runner beans). Others include Hammond, Goliath, Prize Winner, Painted Lady, White Dutch Runner , ... The point is that it has different climatic requirements from the common varieties of pole , bush, shell, beans which are cultivars of P. vugaris. Sorry I misunderstood you. What you wrote was confusing. |
#17
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experience with Scarlet Runner Beans
"Fran" writes:
"Steve" wrote in message wrote While we're on the subject of Scarlet Runner Beans... (snip) I'm writing because I read that these runner beans actually produce a tuber and would be perennial where the ground doesn't freeze. I believe I read that these tubers could be saved and replanted in the spring to produce a faster growing plant next year compared to starting over from seed. They are also called Seven Year Beans. They are perennial but I don't know if from a tuber or not and I wouldn't dig one up as they are simply left in the same place and come up again the next year. As you say, this applies to where the ground doesn't freeze, but they are also a better cold climate bean than the French Bush bean. My parents have been growing scarlet runners for about 35 years. In Winter the plants die down to ground level, and come up again each year. Well, there does seem to be a bit of a loss, with 1 or 2 out of 10 failing to re-emerge. These can be replaced by planting a few seeds where gaps become apparent. In a hot climate, they flower but fruit does not set until the worst of the mid-summer heat abates. I found that watering them morning and evening would encourage fruit set. It's amazing with the ground always wet that there are not problems with root rot, but the soil there is very sandy and drains well. I also put some water-retaining crystals near the roots in an attempt to reduce the need for constant watering. As other posters have pointed out, they really are are a cool-climate plant. They are so-named because of the bright red flowers, but even hardier and better bearing are the white-flowered variety. The beans are indentical, just that their flowers are white. Scarlet runner beans don't have the flavour of, for example, Blue Lake, but my Mum keeps growing the scarlet runners because they bear just at a time when the dwarf beans are finishing. Also, she gives a lot away to neighbours and some of them actually prefer the flavour of the scarlet runners. -- John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup) |
#18
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experience with Scarlet Runner Beans
John Savage wrote in message om... "Fran" writes: "Steve" wrote in message wrote While we're on the subject of Scarlet Runner Beans... (snip) I'm writing because I read that these runner beans actually produce a tuber and would be perennial where the ground doesn't freeze. I believe I read that these tubers could be saved and replanted in the spring to produce a faster growing plant next year compared to starting over from seed. They are also called Seven Year Beans. They are perennial but I don't know if from a tuber or not and I wouldn't dig one up as they are simply left in the same place and come up again the next year. As you say, this applies to where the ground doesn't freeze, but they are also a better cold climate bean than the French Bush bean. My parents have been growing scarlet runners for about 35 years. In Winter the plants die down to ground level, and come up again each year. Well, there does seem to be a bit of a loss, with 1 or 2 out of 10 failing to re-emerge. These can be replaced by planting a few seeds where gaps become apparent. In a hot climate, they flower but fruit does not set until the worst of the mid-summer heat abates. I found that watering them morning and evening would encourage fruit set. It's amazing with the ground always wet that there are not problems with root rot, but the soil there is very sandy and drains well. I also put some water-retaining crystals near the roots in an attempt to reduce the need for constant watering. As other posters have pointed out, they really are are a cool-climate plant. They are so-named because of the bright red flowers, but even hardier and better bearing are the white-flowered variety. The beans are indentical, just that their flowers are white. Scarlet runner beans don't have the flavour of, for example, Blue Lake, but my Mum keeps growing the scarlet runners because they bear just at a time when the dwarf beans are finishing. Also, she gives a lot away to neighbours and some of them actually prefer the flavour of the scarlet runners. Here in U.K. I've found that our runner beans are more tender and have a better flavour than, say, yellow wax beans, or ordinary bush beans, and with no string if you pick them young. They taste especially nice if you use one of those Krisk shredders that reduces them to thin strings. When they get old, you can use the dried beans to plant for next year, but I've tried using them in cooking the way you would, say, lima beans, however they don't have a lot of flavour. Our summers are probably cooler than in the U.S. or Canada, but it helps the bean pods to set if you spray the flowers with water - or, even better, mist them with sugar water, to attract bees to pollinate them. They don't have a tuberous root, like a potato, just a root that gets rather large and stumpy and may be mistaken for a tuber. Our beans never survive our winters and have to be planted afresh every year. s. |
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