Runner Beans

I planted our runnerbeans from seed straight into the garden 19 May 2006

They are California red Kidney Beans

These photos were taken on July 22 2006

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What it looks like:

Flower

We ordered these seeds froma catalogue and it wasn't until after I had planted them that I realised they were NOT the runner beans that I was expecting. These say on the packet that they are left on the plant until the bean is dried before harvesting.

In the UK we get runner beans that are long and about a half inch wide. The plants have red flowers (I see the dried bean plant has a whitey pink flower) . They are sliced and boiled and taste delicious or are eaten raw.)

Beans

I am interested to see how these beans turn out. It seems that since they will be dry I will be able to use them to make soups and beanpots and casseroles. Different to the beans I was expecting but good nevertheless!

These beans seem narrower and not as long as the UK Runner Bean.

I am wondering if they can be used like a french bean or like the english runner bean. If any one knows please blog me about it..thanks.

How to grow

California red kidney beans like a sunny lcation. Shade limits growth.They take about 100 days to mature so ours should be ready by the end of August or the beginning of September. They prefer sandy loam soil but succeed in msot types of soil.

Harvesting

The beans are at their prime when you can still see about a quarter of an inch of green stem just before the pod, with the balance of the pod in a dried up state.

On the seed packet it says that these Red kidney beans do not have to be soaked overnight before cooking. It says:" A short cut method is to place them in a kettle, cover with water, bring them to a boil. Boil for 2 mins. Remove the kettle from the heat and allow to stand one hour.. still covered with water. Then cook until tender as your recipe directs." (Stokes red kidney bean seed packet)

I harvested the beans on Aug 25 2006 and our visitor and my husband shelled them for me so I didn't have to do any of the work. But it looked easy! And it was done very quickly! They should make delicious chilli!