The message .com
from "La puce" contains these words:
Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:
Ah. do a little something on it from time to time and it should become
very fertile.

I've noticed )

Evidently you didn't get the good old Scarlet Emperor.
There's *NO* vegetable to compare with fresh runner beans.

Ok. I'll take your word for it. But it's the last time ...

I'll send you some nondescript beans - saved over the generations, they
won't have a type.

Always pick them before the beans start to swell the pod into lumps -
runners should be smooth and flat, and sliced thinly on the diagonal
before cooking.

And then, not a lot more than blanching, to my taste.


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--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:
Ah. do a little something on it from time to time and it should become
very fertile.

I've noticed )

Evidently you didn't get the good old Scarlet Emperor.
There's *NO* vegetable to compare with fresh runner beans.

Ok. I'll take your word for it. But it's the last time ...

off to get some Scarlet Emperor

The message .com
from "La puce" contains these words:

Always pick them before the beans start to swell the pod into lumps -
runners should be smooth and flat, and sliced thinly on the diagonal
before cooking.
And then, not a lot more than blanching, to my taste.

Hmmm. I don't know still. I really thought they were really 'orrible.

Properly prepared, there's nothing about them to *BE* 'orrible.

My kids just turn green and spat the lot.

Oh well, that's kids. Should have been brought up durnit the war, innit.

It's terrible what I am going
to say, but the only one I liked was the one my friend made for me
once. They were pre-cut, washed from Sainsbury. They were just about
ok. Not much taste.

Runners aren't an intensely flavoured vegetable, they are delicate and
crunchy. Tossed in butter - - mmmmmmmmm!

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:
I'll send you some nondescript beans - saved over the generations, they
won't have a type.

I'll exchange this if you want with some chinese beans my friend
brought from his trip. I had no time to do them this year but I'm sure
they should be fine. Some are very long, 30plus cm at least, yellow and
really fine. Another is same length but black.

I think it's time we exchange addresses. I'm emailing you mine.

Always pick them before the beans start to swell the pod into lumps -
runners should be smooth and flat, and sliced thinly on the diagonal
before cooking.
And then, not a lot more than blanching, to my taste.

Hmmm. I don't know still. I really thought they were really 'orrible.
My kids just turn green and spat the lot. It's terrible what I am going
to say, but the only one I liked was the one my friend made for me
once. They were pre-cut, washed from Sainsbury. They were just about
ok. Not much taste.

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The cat's gone on your keyboard again )

"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
k...
The message
from "Bertie Doe" contains these words:

Try Blue Lake, they're fantastic fresh or frozen. In fact they freeze a
lot
better than the traditional English runners. In fact, the taste is
similar
to a dwarf bean, but with a much higher yield.

The way I freeze runners you'd never know they *HAD* been frozen.

Blanche em?

"La puce" wrote in message
oups.com...

Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:
I'll send you some nondescript beans - saved over the generations, they
won't have a type.

I'll exchange this if you want with some chinese beans my friend
brought from his trip. I had no time to do them this year but I'm sure
they should be fine. Some are very long, 30plus cm at least, yellow and
really fine. Another is same length but black.

My wife's Chinese and I try to grow a few bits and bobs to keep her happy
i.e. Chinese kale, cabbage, pak choi, choy sum and the Japonese icicle
radish.
The long Chinese bean you mentioned, are they runners?
Bertie

The message
from "Bertie Doe" contains these words:
"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
k...

The way I freeze runners you'd never know they *HAD* been frozen.

Blanche em?

Blanch them and bag them up with the blanching water in multiples of 1
portion lots. Including the juice prevents them from freeze-drying, and
all you have to do is to allow them to thaw, then gently bring them up
to the boil.

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from "Bertie Doe" contains these words:
"La puce" wrote in message
oups.com...
Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:
I'll send you some nondescript beans - saved over the generations, they
won't have a type.

I'll exchange this if you want with some chinese beans my friend
brought from his trip. I had no time to do them this year but I'm sure
they should be fine. Some are very long, 30plus cm at least, yellow and
really fine. Another is same length but black.

My wife's Chinese and I try to grow a few bits and bobs to keep her happy
i.e. Chinese kale, cabbage, pak choi, choy sum and the Japonese icicle
radish.
The long Chinese bean you mentioned, are they runners?

I never mentioned Chinese beans - most of my beans are runners and the
rest are fodder beans, intended for cattle, but rather good - a sort-of
small version of the broad bean, and very similar in its growth.

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Bertie Doe wrote:
My wife's Chinese and I try to grow a few bits and bobs to keep her happy
i.e. Chinese kale, cabbage, pak choi, choy sum and the Japonese icicle
radish.
The long Chinese bean you mentioned, are they runners?

Yes! They do look superbe. If you want I give you some too because in
all honesty the bags are huge and I think there's enough for 4 of us
(Jaques, you, my friend and moi). I'll give you the names later on
Bertie (when I've made it back home).

I've been growing Blue Lake from the same packet for the last 5 years (it
was a big packet, and they are still good germinators). They are always
fantastically heavy croppers, in both the shaley soil of the last house and
the heavy clay of this one although they foliage is much better on clay than
shale. Like you say, they taste good both fresh and frozen. I've never had
any flat ones produced, always your typical French climbing bean shape (4-6
inches, finger thick, round and tapered at the very end)

I grew a slightly bigger crop this year - two eight foot rows - and have
managed to put several kilos in the freezer, eat loads (got pretty sick of
them if truth be told, almost as bad as the courgettes), and for the first
time I let some develop the beans inside and shelled them for eating - very
nice and tasted more like peas than beans. Also, in anticipation of the old
beans starting to fail to germinate, I let a load fully develop and have
dried and shelled them ready for sowing next year - wish me luck.

Aren't they an F1 hybrid? So won't you get unpredictable results from
the seeds you saved? - maybe they won't climb... or won't have the same
heavy cropping... It will be interesting to see what happens no doubt,
but it might be better to splash out and buy a new packet?

Hmmm. I don't know still. I really thought they were really 'orrible.
My kids just turn green and spat the lot. It's terrible what I am going
to say, but the only one I liked was the one my friend made for me
once. They were pre-cut, washed from Sainsbury. They were just about
ok. Not much taste.

Kids turn green? Maybe time to slice /them/ diagonally...

"La puce" wrote in message
oups.com...

Bertie Doe wrote:
My wife's Chinese and I try to grow a few bits and bobs to keep her happy
i.e. Chinese kale, cabbage, pak choi, choy sum and the Japonese icicle
radish.
The long Chinese bean you mentioned, are they runners?

Yes! They do look superbe. If you want I give you some too because in
all honesty the bags are huge and I think there's enough for 4 of us
(Jaques, you, my friend and moi). I'll give you the names later on
Bertie (when I've made it back home).

Thanks, that would be great as the leafy Oriental veg, have a 40% failure
rate due to (I think) the Flea Beatle. Tried liquid Derris, but no workee.
BD

The message
from "Bertie Doe" contains these words:


"La puce" wrote in message
oups.com...

Bertie Doe wrote:
My wife's Chinese and I try to grow a few bits and bobs to keep her happy
i.e. Chinese kale, cabbage, pak choi, choy sum and the Japonese icicle
radish.
The long Chinese bean you mentioned, are they runners?

Yes! They do look superbe. If you want I give you some too because in
all honesty the bags are huge and I think there's enough for 4 of us
(Jaques, you, my friend and moi). I'll give you the names later on
Bertie (when I've made it back home).

Thanks, that would be great as the leafy Oriental veg, have a 40% failure
rate due to (I think) the Flea Beatle. Tried liquid Derris, but no workee.
BD


Covering this kind of crop with horticultural fleece works very well
against flea beetle. It's easy, healthy and quite cheap.
Janet G

"Janet Galpin" wrote in message
from "Bertie Doe" contains these words:


"La puce" wrote in message
oups.com...

Thanks, that would be great as the leafy Oriental veg, have a 40% failure
rate due to (I think) the Flea Beatle. Tried liquid Derris, but no
workee.
BD

Covering this kind of crop with horticultural fleece works very well
against flea beetle. It's easy, healthy and quite cheap.

Thanks, I may give that a try, although the coverage would need to be about
7 rows, so I have to work out costs vs benefits.
My Cos, Winter Density, Icebegs and Webs W were unaffected. This may be due
to the fact that I start them off in the greenhouse.
Autumn King carrots were badly hit by carrot fly this year, although free of
the pests during the previous 3 years. All other crops were fine - so not
complaining too much.
Bertie

The message
from "Bertie Doe" contains these words:


"Janet Galpin" wrote in message
from "Bertie Doe" contains these words:


"La puce" wrote in message
oups.com...

Thanks, that would be great as the leafy Oriental veg, have a 40% failure
rate due to (I think) the Flea Beatle. Tried liquid Derris, but no
workee.
BD

Covering this kind of crop with horticultural fleece works very well
against flea beetle. It's easy, healthy and quite cheap.

Thanks, I may give that a try, although the coverage would need to be about
7 rows, so I have to work out costs vs benefits.
My Cos, Winter Density, Icebegs and Webs W were unaffected. This may be due
to the fact that I start them off in the greenhouse.
Autumn King carrots were badly hit by carrot fly this year, although
free of
the pests during the previous 3 years. All other crops were fine - so not
complaining too much.
Bertie

Lettuce doesn't seem to suffer from flea beetle. In my experience,
radishes, mizuna, rocket and oriental veg in the brassica family like
texel greens get affected badly when it's hot and dry in mid to late
summer.
By the way, fleece is also very good for carrot fly. It lasts a few
seasons too.
Janet G