This year I grew another variety trial of climbing beans in the polytunnel, under better conditions than a few years ago, and was able to select two really productive varieties to grow again, but some of the subtle differences are interesting.
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32 Comments
Very nice 🌹
The Blauhilde doesn’t give a lot of beans at the start, but it keeps this up for several months outside.
Thank you! Your trials and information are very valuable for me to plan my new family garden. 🌱🌱❤
this is my first time finding this channel and I'm astounded! I love how thorough you are! definitely subscribing
Really love watching these videos Bruce. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
This year I grew a variety of phaseolus coccineus, which I believe are called runner beans in English. The variety I grew was Prijswinner, from the Netherlands. It stood up to the beating wind from the nearby sea (±5km) without problem and gave very tasty, beany-tasting beans. It also flowers with a gorgeous red flower that attracts many bees. It's still producing, because unlike the vulgaris species, coccineus can withstand cool temperatures, allowing it to be sown earlier (beginning of May for me) and crop for longer (I expect until the first night frost).
I mention this because I know you suffer from wind a lot in the garden. This species seems to be very resistent to that, and I've used it as a wind break for other vegetables as well. Win-win!
I suggest trying Red Noodle beans – they're not as productive, but the flavor is nutty and very different.
Do you think your climate impacted your Borlotti crop? I definitely want to grow it next year because they are delicious. It looks like I should research and increase my planting if they will not have high yields in my climate.
Thanks for these comparisons, I really appreciate your approach and reporting on results. Now I want to try Helda in a future growing season.
At 7:37 the harvetstime diagram you had me! Punched the subscribebutton and looking forward to see past & future videos.😊 You're my kind of farmerguy. Scientific, clear and curious. Well done and thank you!
I have tried Cobra three years ago and loved it. Raised bed outside in 2 stacked pallet collar and a 2 m net for climbing (reusing sturdy leftover fence). It actually grow a lot taller. A good yield and nice taste. But now I definitely would try to find som Helda seeds! Maby from a seedsaving community for heirloom lokal old varieties I'm in to.
I have to found out your climate compared to mine in Sweden.
I prefer the taste of the flat podded beans too. Hunter is a really good variety. There are some dwarf flat podded varieties too, I'm trying Nassau and Capitano next year.
How do you find runner beans vs French climbing beans? This year I reduced my runner beans planting to stick some climbing French beans for thr first time and didn't get a single French bean, but my beans in general did badly due to the very dry weather we had
I enjoyed the novelty of growing dried beans, but now I only do that if there's a special variety I can't buy in bulk. Otherwise, the cost of growing them far outweighs the price when you just buy them in bulk, and that's ignoring the effort required to harvest and winnow.
You put my puny patio grow to shame.
how do you get superior seeds….??
Hey man!!! it's just my curiosity…. you actually are in Ireland , aren't You ? , but if I don't watch and just listen , I hear somebody from NY or W dc.. or …..you know.
Great update from your work !!!
We had Emerite beans for dinner this evening, harvested today, which was October 20th. The quality was almost as good as it was for the first harvest. There are still large numbers of pods on the plants, although sadly many have become over mature. The harvest became simply overwhelming after many pickings.
Another banger– i've been thinking hard about expanding my bean harvests. Appreciate your reflective videos.
My horticulture science fix for the week !
With the problems with seeds in the past two years, I'd grow all three of the top choices. That way you insulate yourself from a potential failure of any one variety.
Using the bean in the kitchen, I love the pressure cooker. I don't always make them the star of the dish. I often use them sparingly and that tends to work great for me
Why not compare plants by amount of calories produced per plant or m²? I know that it won't always be good to use calories (it's not fair for leafy vegetables, herbs, cucumbers, etc) but for things like bean pods Vs bean seeds I think it can help us understand the difference in yield better than judging by weight. After all the main purpose of plants is to help us put the energy they collect from the sun in our bodies.
I let most of my climbing beans go to seed and then put the seeds in soups and stews. Also, I never grow them under glass. I find they grow fine out in the open, even here on the North East Coast of England.
assuming you sell your produce. The purple and yellow beans might increase the value/ price of the beans and so from a commercial point of view might be worth the lower yield? I grow both yellow and purple for home consumption just for the visual appeal. But of course I’m not growing on anything like your scale.
Thanks for another informative video!
If you're growing corn/maize anyways, you can find space for Borlottos by interplanting them. I gave up on the "3 sisters" approach for fresh beans, because harvesting was so much extra work, but borlottos work well because they aren't harvested on an ongoing basis.
I have been growing brunhilde and neckargold for the past number of years, and their production has always been comparable to the green varieties (neckarkönigin, blue lake) – or rather, differences in productivity were much more influenced by other factors (irrigation, nutrient availability) than by variety. Even if that were not the case, I find that the colour is a quality that I'm willing to take into consideration when comparing value.
I was a bit disapointed with neckar gold, and it was my first time growing it. Borlotti as well was very slow. My most prolific were the purple varities of climbing french bean, but next year I will be planting far more black turtle bean. I just planted and left until they were dry. Pulled out the whole plant, stripped and podded them. I'm pretty sure I will be going back to good old fashioned runners next year like Scarlets. I did end up with too many beans as usual, but I have dehydrated tons, although it was such a tough start. Nothing was growing in spring because, once more, it was too cold and I kept having to replace plants because of the slugs.
Yet again another video that i am going to go back and take notes. I could watch your videos all day. Because you have me so interested. You make my mind race with wonder. I am definitely going to be doing some comparisons. My thoughts are, how did these compare in the kitchen? Which was your preference there? Are yields the most important factor (for me)? What variety do you think would be most appealing to kids? The one I never thought about till this past year, how much to plant, how much is too much? I didn't have a plan to deal with what was above and beyond my family's needs, and i didn't have a grasp on a per plant level how much to expect.
I’m loving watching your channel especially the trials. Where can I buy some Emerite bean seeds from? I’ve started a project to grow food for my local food bank and I need to factor yields into what we grow as the space is small. This seems a great choice for next year. Thank you and keep up the great work. Teresa
Dried Beans give much less yield but you can store them for years without any input.
Have you tried growing chickpeas?
where do you get emerite from? never come across it before.
Living on Anglesey, I too have a windy environment. So often the supports were blown down, or all the leaves blown off the vines that a harvest can not be relied upon. Dwarf French gave a good supply of beans when grown outside, in a trough in a greenhouse, and in the new polytunnel. However, I like the flavour of runner beans so it was one of the reasons I got my polytunnel. My favourite is 'White Lady'. Good flavoured green pods and stringless. Any white beans can be used in soups and cassoulets without giving an unappetising colour that the pink and black speckled ones do.
Thanks for another interesting video.
Will the saved seeds grow true or have they been further hybridized by close proximity to the other varieties ? I assume they are all hybrids.
I truly enjoy how analytical your videos are. There's so many variables involved in growing vegetables. You are so complete in your analysis. Please keep up the great work.