I pulled up the canes this morning and composted the vines.It has been a
good season and the last feed was good.If the weather had been warmer
there would have been more, but there's plenty in the freezer to last us
a while. Besides I am trying Marshalls over-wintering onion sets for
lifting in May when this year's crop will be running out,and I need the
ground.It is the first time for me to try this, so I would be glad to
hear of anyone's experience with them. Thanks.

Sam

"sam" wrote in message
...
I pulled up the canes this morning and composted the vines.It has been a
good season and the last feed was good.If the weather had been warmer there
would have been more, but there's plenty in the freezer to last us a while.
Besides I am trying Marshalls over-wintering onion sets for lifting in May
when this year's crop will be running out,and I need the ground.It is the
first time for me to try this, so I would be glad to hear of anyone's
experience with them. Thanks.

Sam

The onion sets are fine, you should get a good crop especially if you plant
them SOON so they get a good root system established before the cold weather
sets in. They're always a bit of a gamble because a very cold or (like last
year) wet winter can be the end of a lot of them, particularly if they
aren't well rooted.

Don't give them any fertiliser until mid March or April, as encouraging
soft, tender growth isn't a good thing since it's susceptible to cold.

Neil.

"sam" wrote in message
...
I pulled up the canes this morning and composted the vines.It has been a
good season and the last feed was good.If the weather had been warmer there
would have been more, but there's plenty in the freezer to last us a while.
Besides I am trying Marshalls over-wintering onion sets for lifting in May
when this year's crop will be running out,and I need the ground.It is the
first time for me to try this, so I would be glad to hear of anyone's
experience with them. Thanks.

Sam

I managed to get approximately 2lb of beans per plant this year. I don't
know if that's good or bad, but we did
have to resort to giving them away in the end1

Andy.

"Andy" wrote in message
...

"sam" wrote in message
...
I pulled up the canes this morning and composted the vines.It has been a
good season and the last feed was good.If the weather had been warmer
there
would have been more, but there's plenty in the freezer to last us a
while.
Besides I am trying Marshalls over-wintering onion sets for lifting in
May
when this year's crop will be running out,and I need the ground.It is
the
first time for me to try this, so I would be glad to hear of anyone's
experience with them. Thanks.

Sam

I managed to get approximately 2lb of beans per plant this year. I don't
know if that's good or bad, but we did
have to resort to giving them away in the end1

How many plants?
What about stored stock (winter/spring)? Got enough frozen/dried?

--
J.P. in London.

The message
from sam contains these words:

I pulled up the canes this morning and composted the vines.It has been a
good season and the last feed was good.If the weather had been warmer
there would have been more, but there's plenty in the freezer to last us
a while. Besides I am trying Marshalls over-wintering onion sets for
lifting in May when this year's crop will be running out,and I need the
ground.It is the first time for me to try this, so I would be glad to
hear of anyone's experience with them. Thanks.

Dig the roots up (if you haven't already done so) and store them in dry
sand over the winter. Keep them cool, but don't allow them to freeze.
Leave several buds on the stem.

Plant out when you would plant out new beans, and instead of getting
just one shoot, you should get several: some from the stem, and others
from round the fleshy root.

--
Rusty

In article , sam
writes
I pulled up the canes this morning and composted the vines.It has been a
good season and the last feed was good.If the weather had been warmer
there would have been more, but there's plenty in the freezer to last us
a while.

I would like to freeze our surplus, however, I have never been satisfied
with them after freezing - any advice would be welcome

--
Judith Lea

The message
from "Andy" contains these words:

I managed to get approximately 2lb of beans per plant this year. I don't
know if that's good or bad, but we did
have to resort to giving them away in the end1

I would expect to get a lot more than that, though admittedly, this year
was rather poor.

--
Rusty

The message
from Judith Lea contains these words:

I would like to freeze our surplus, however, I have never been satisfied
with them after freezing - any advice would be welcome

Blanch them by putting in boiling water, bring back to the boil and
simmer for a minute.

Freeze the beans in freezer bags, with the water they were blanched in.
Exclude all air from the bag before sealing.

The water prevents the beans from getting freezer-burn - which happens
if they are frozen 'dry' and there is an air-space in the bag.

I freeze in single portions because I live alone, but I'd freeze in
units of the amount you expect to use each time. I specified freezer
bags because thinner plastic will permit some water to diffuse through
it.

I freeze as much as possible this way - a method I learnt back in the
early 'seventies at the Torrey Research Station, while on a
fish-handling course.

On freezer ships, some fish are blast-frozen, then sprayed with water to
coat them with ice, and this prevents freezer-burn. I just modified the
process to apply to vegetables, and i can assure you, it works
excellently.

I then do any more cooking required in the water saved with the veg - in
the case of beans, I find that just bringing them to the boil is
sufficient.

HTH

--
Rusty

In article , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes

Big useful snip....
I then do any more cooking required in the water saved with the veg - in
the case of beans, I find that just bringing them to the boil is
sufficient.

HTH

Thank you I will try your method tonight
--
Judith Lea

"JP in Lon" wrote in message
...
"Andy" wrote in message
...

"sam" wrote in message
...
I pulled up the canes this morning and composted the vines.It has been a
good season and the last feed was good.If the weather had been warmer
there
would have been more, but there's plenty in the freezer to last us a
while.
Besides I am trying Marshalls over-wintering onion sets for lifting in
May
when this year's crop will be running out,and I need the ground.It is
the
first time for me to try this, so I would be glad to hear of anyone's
experience with them. Thanks.

Sam

I managed to get approximately 2lb of beans per plant this year. I don't
know if that's good or bad, but we did
have to resort to giving them away in the end1

How many plants?
What about stored stock (winter/spring)? Got enough frozen/dried?

Eight plants 15lb total, not including 1lb I let go to seed. I have blanched
and frozen as much as possible, but don't have a large freezer. I'm not sure
how
to dry these things. Can you eat the mature beans? I've tried podding some
and letting
them dry on the windowsill but I'm not too sure about them, some of them are
discoloured and soft, others are showing slight signs of mould, others have
split.
I'm wondering whether I'll get one good bean out of them at this rate

:-(

Andy.

The message
from Judith Lea contains these words:

In article , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes

Big useful snip....
I then do any more cooking required in the water saved with the veg - in
the case of beans, I find that just bringing them to the boil is
sufficient.

HTH

Thank you I will try your method tonight

I don't think you'll be disappointed.

--
Rusty

The message
from "Andy" contains these words:

Eight plants 15lb total, not including 1lb I let go to seed. I have blanched
and frozen as much as possible, but don't have a large freezer. I'm
not sure
how
to dry these things.

Just wait until the pods start to go manky, and take them off the vine.
Lay them out on a flat surface, or hang them up in a net bag - the sort
of thing onions etc come in.

When the pods are dry and papery, take the beans out and leave them on a
tray in the airing-cupboard or somewhere warm and dry.

Can you eat the mature beans? I've tried podding some
and letting
them dry on the windowsill but I'm not too sure about them, some of them are
discoloured and soft, others are showing slight signs of mould, others have
split.

Assuming they're properly dried, yes. The skins are a bit tough, so it
pays to take the skins off after rehydrating them. (soak for at least 24
hours) I don't know what the toxicity of the uncooked bean is (I'd guess
it is low), so you'd be wise to cook them as for red kidney beans - i.e.
boil for 20 minutes at least.

I'm wondering whether I'll get one good bean out of them at this rate

Well, I use them in soup, and I use those fodder beans which are like
small broad beans - fresh, instead of broad beans, or dried and
rehydrated, as a dish similar to peas pudding.

--
Rusty

JP in Lon wrote:

What about stored stock (winter/spring)? Got enough frozen/dried?


and let's not forget salting!

Rusty Hinge wrote:


Dig the roots up (if you haven't already done so) and store them in dry
sand over the winter. Keep them cool, but don't allow them to freeze.
Leave several buds on the stem.

.... and I was just about to say DON'T dig the roots up, cut the vines
off and leave them as they will continue to fix atmospheric nitrogen for
next year's crops (brassicacea in my rotation)!

The message
from Derek Turner somewhat@odds contains these words:
Rusty Hinge wrote:


Dig the roots up (if you haven't already done so) and store them in dry
sand over the winter. Keep them cool, but don't allow them to freeze.
Leave several buds on the stem.

.... and I was just about to say DON'T dig the roots up, cut the vines
off and leave them as they will continue to fix atmospheric nitrogen for
next year's crops (brassicacea in my rotation)!

It's usual (and well worthwhile) to prepare a bean trench and use it for
several/many years, as runner beans have few diseases which affect them
in this country.

In any case, the amount of fixed nitrogen in the soil can be made up
over the winter quite easily by watering with urine every now and again.

You don't even need to go to the expense of a watering can...

--
Rusty