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#1
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Blue Lake Beans
I grew this variety of french climbers for the first time. They taste good -
fresh or frozen. Strangely, half the plants have produced flat beans with a wavy edge. The remainder are the rounded type. The seed packet is Fothergills', generic style with no pics. Is this usual for B.Lake? TIA Bertie |
#2
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Blue Lake Beans
"Bertie Doe" wrote in message
... I grew this variety of french climbers for the first time. They taste good - fresh or frozen. Strangely, half the plants have produced flat beans with a wavy edge. The remainder are the rounded type. The seed packet is Fothergills', generic style with no pics. Is this usual for B.Lake? TIA Bertie 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. Kase -- Great ringtones, games and wallpapers for your mobile http://www.funkibug.co.uk/ Remove YOURPANTS before replying |
#3
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Blue Lake Beans
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? |
#4
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Blue Lake Beans
On Fri, 04 Nov 2005 22:17:13 GMT, "Bertie Doe" wrote:
I grew this variety of french climbers for the first time. They taste good - fresh or frozen. Strangely, half the plants have produced flat beans with a wavy edge. The remainder are the rounded type. The seed packet is Fothergills', generic style with no pics. Is this usual for B.Lake? TIA No, not usual ! I have grown many "Blue Lake" over the years and never had any go flat with wavy edges, they should all be long thin round pods. Like this :- http://www.fothergills.co.uk/en/clim...-lake-321.aspx I have grown a flat wavy edged climbing bean "Hunter", could that be what you are describing I wonder ? Like this :- http://www.fothergills.co.uk/en/clim...unter-320.aspx Sounds like Fothergills may have had a hiccup in their packaging machines !? |
#5
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Blue Lake Beans
"Bertie Doe" wrote in message ... I grew this variety of french climbers for the first time. They taste good - fresh or frozen. Strangely, half the plants have produced flat beans with a wavy edge. The remainder are the rounded type. The seed packet is Fothergills', generic style with no pics. Is this usual for B.Lake? TIA Bertie Fothergills also do Purple Queen some of which grow a bit flatter and knobblier than Blue Lake http://www.fothergills.co.uk/en/dwar...queen-789.aspx A few years back I grew a yellow semi climber from Marshalls (can't remember the name) which produced mixed pencil and flatter beans from the same packet. michael adams .... |
#6
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Blue Lake Beans
In article ,
Bertie Doe wrote: I grew this variety of french climbers for the first time. They taste good - fresh or frozen. Strangely, half the plants have produced flat beans with a wavy edge. The remainder are the rounded type. The seed packet is Fothergills', generic style with no pics. Is this usual for B.Lake? TIA My guess is that they were grown too close to a variety like Barlotta, the originals are homozygous, and the blue colour and flat shape are independent, dominant alleles. If that is the case, growing seeds from the odd beans would produce a mixture of round blue beans, flat blue beans, round green beans and flat green beans. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#7
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Blue Lake Beans
"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message ... In article , Bertie Doe wrote: I grew this variety of french climbers for the first time. They taste good - fresh or frozen. Strangely, half the plants have produced flat beans with a wavy edge. The remainder are the rounded type. The seed packet is Fothergills', generic style with no pics. Is this usual for B.Lake? TIA My guess is that they were grown too close to a variety like Barlotta, the originals are homozygous, and the blue colour and flat shape are independent, dominant alleles. Indeed. quote Isolation Requirements. [French]Bean flowers are principally self-pollinated. Natural crossing however, is more common than peas, and the extend of cross pollination may vary from two to eight per cent. The seed field must be isolated from fields of other varieties, and the same variety not conforming to varietal purity requirements by at least ten metres for foundation seed production and five metres for certified seed production. http://www.seedtamilnadu.com/nfrenchbean.htm /quote Given that they're largely self pollinating, I wouldn't have believed that myself, without checking it out. Isn't the "Interweb" wonderful ! Also you're not the only person who assumed that Blue Lake produce purple beans, rather than green ones. With their being small and pencil shaped I never tried them myself and so I made the same mistake. I had mixed flat and pencil shaped Mont D'Or, bright yellow semi climbers a few years back from the one packet from Marshalls. However I'd also had plenty saved from previous years and so used those instead the next year. michael adams If that is the case, growing seeds from the odd beans would produce a mixture of round blue beans, flat blue beans, round green beans and flat green beans. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#8
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Blue Lake Beans
In article , Bertie Doe
writes I grew this variety of french climbers for the first time. They taste good - fresh or frozen. Strangely, half the plants have produced flat beans with a wavy edge. The remainder are the rounded type. The seed packet is Fothergills', generic style with no pics. Is this usual for B.Lake? TIA No - Blue Lake are rounded (and, as you say, lovely flavour). Sounds like the seed got mixed in packing. -- Kay "Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river" |
#9
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Blue Lake Beans
"Kay" wrote in message In article Bertie Doe writes The seed packet is Fothergills', generic style with no pics. Is this usual for B.Lake? TIA No - Blue Lake are rounded (and, as you say, lovely flavour). Sounds like the seed got mixed in packing. -- Ok (oh Kay) shouldn't be flat. I grew some French climbers a couple of years ago called 'Hunter'. These were flat, with a wavy edge, you're right, a mix during packing. B.D. |
#10
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Blue Lake Beans
I grew this variety of french climbers for the first time. They taste
good - fresh or frozen. Strangely, half the plants have produced flat beans with a wavy edge. The remainder are the rounded type. The seed packet is Fothergills', generic style with no pics. Is this usual for B.Lake? TIA Bertie I know everyone seems to be telling you that this isn't normal, but I noticed something similar when I grew Blue Lake for the first time last year (seeds from Suttons) and wondered what was going on. Some fruits seemed distinctly flatter than others - more like runner beans in cross section (though not quite as flat). I wasn't too worried about it, though as they cropped well enough. I grew them again this year, but didn't notice such a variation (but only had 5 plants, so that may just have been a matter of chance). These 5 plants yielded 2.8kg (which seems good to me, though I expect there'll soon be a chorus of responses asking how I managed such a poor yield!) - still a few to be picked, but I've more or less given up on them now, despite this Indian summer! |
#11
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Blue Lake Beans
The message
from "Ian Keeling" contains these words: I grew them again this year, but didn't notice such a variation (but only had 5 plants, so that may just have been a matter of chance). These 5 plants yielded 2.8kg (which seems good to me, though I expect there'll soon be a chorus of responses asking how I managed such a poor yield!) - still a few to be picked, but I've more or less given up on them now, despite this Indian summer! It wasn't a good year for beans with me, either. I think I must have grown three times as many on the same number of palnts as I did last year. -- Rusty horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/ |
#12
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Blue Lake Beans
Jaques d'Alltrades wrote: I grew them again this year, but didn't notice such a variation (but only had 5 plants, so that may just have been a matter of chance). These 5 plants yielded 2.8kg (which seems good to me, though I expect there'll soon be a chorus of responses asking how I managed such a poor yield!) - still a few to be picked, but I've more or less given up on them now, despite this Indian summer! It wasn't a good year for beans with me, either. I think I must have grown three times as many on the same number of palnts as I did last year. I've done well on broadbeans this year ) I'm akshually really really happy because I have a 2sqm thick clay bit at the end of my plot and for 2 years I had done nothing on it. Desperately at the last moment I had forked in lots and lots of manure that my neighbour didn't want. I thought I would 'sacrifice' some broad beans and the result was amazing. We eat them raw - and they were the bestest I have ever eaten. I just wish my grand ma could have tasted them. However, I won't do runner beans ever again. I had so many, so stringy, so 'orrible - the flowers where very huge and were very pretty, but the beans, even the young ones, were not to our taste. |
#13
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Blue Lake Beans
The message .com
from "La puce" contains these words: Jaques d'Alltrades wrote: I grew them again this year, but didn't notice such a variation (but only had 5 plants, so that may just have been a matter of chance). These 5 plants yielded 2.8kg (which seems good to me, though I expect there'll soon be a chorus of responses asking how I managed such a poor yield!) - still a few to be picked, but I've more or less given up on them now, despite this Indian summer! It wasn't a good year for beans with me, either. I think I must have grown three times as many on the same number of palnts as I did last year. I've done well on broadbeans this year ) I'm akshually really really happy because I have a 2sqm thick clay bit at the end of my plot and for 2 years I had done nothing on it. Ah. do a little something on it from time to time and it should become very fertile. Desperately at the last moment I had forked in lots and lots of manure that my neighbour didn't want. I thought I would 'sacrifice' some broad beans and the result was amazing. We eat them raw - and they were the bestest I have ever eaten. I just wish my grand ma could have tasted them. However, I won't do runner beans ever again. I had so many, so stringy, so 'orrible - the flowers where very huge and were very pretty, but the beans, even the young ones, were not to our taste. Evidently you didn't get the good old Scarlet Emperor. There's *NO* vegetable to compare with fresh runner beans. -- Rusty horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/ |
#14
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Blue Lake Beans
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 |
#15
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Blue Lake Beans
Ian Keeling wrote I grew them again this year, but didn't notice such a variation (but only had 5 plants, so that may just have been a matter of chance). These 5 plants yielded 2.8kg (which seems good to me, though I expect there'll soon be a chorus of responses asking how I managed such a poor yield!) - still a few to be picked, but I've more or less given up on them now, despite this Indian summer! Nope, that's a good yield from 5 plants Jaques d'Alltrades wrote: It wasn't a good year for beans with me, either. I think I must have grown three times as many on the same number of palnts as I did last year. Although I planted 2 rows on the allotment, my yield was down over previous. The late cold-snap's to blame, I goov "La puce" wrote in message sni However, I won't do runner beans ever again. I had so many, so stringy, so 'orrible - the flowers where very huge and were very pretty, but the beans, even the young ones, were not to our taste. 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. Bertie |
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