Grow Your Own Magazine

So now I've grown all these lovely beans, I would like to harvest the seed for (a) growing next year and (b) eating!

At the risk of sounding a bit dim - how do you do this? 'Shell them and dry them' seems to be the blithley given advice, but I'm finding it not as easy as that...

With the Barlotti beans, I took all the pods off last weekend as the weather was v cold and the plants look really sad. Some pods were still bright red which yielded almost totally green beans, and some pods were well brown and yielded brown beans some of which, frankly, look a bit skanky and the inbetween ones had lovely green-splashed-with-red beans.

Now I've got all the 'left over' runners and climbing french beans still on the plants - how do I know when to take the pods off, and then what do I do with the pods and when do I shell the beans??

Oh, and I presume that once I've cracked the dry-the-beans-for-eating bit, I can use runner beans in casseroles just like the french beans?

The black turtle beans have been most obliging with the whole plant turning brown and crispy 2 or 3 weeks ago so I just pulled the whole plant up and pulled off the pods and shelled them into a jar - and at the other end of the spectrum, the broad bean pods I was given to harvest the beans went black and manky....

Idiots guide needed......!

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Hazel
www.hazelandjanesallotment.blogspot.com
update Sun 30/11/2008......Indoor Allotmenteering too!.....

Hi Hazel,

I let them dry out whilst still on the plant, not sure how this would work with all of the frost we have been having?

maybe bring them in and let them dry whilst still in the pods? at least that way the beans inside will stay clean etc and you can leave them on a sunny window maybe?

Sure someone will know better though, Mandy

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No mater when time you set out, you always get there at the same time

It IS that easy!
They need to be really dry to store...bite the bean, if its hard you can store it (in a jar) if its soft you can cook it to eat now or freeze it for later.
Enjoy!

(nb. you don't have to bite every bean...you'll soon recognise from the pod which are dry enough...they are brown and crispy not soft at all)

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

So what if it's too wet for the pods to go brown and crispy? Should I take the pods off the plants and dry them indoors? And if so, when?

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Hazel
www.hazelandjanesallotment.blogspot.com
update Sun 30/11/2008......Indoor Allotmenteering too!.....

Try this free download from the Real seed co Hazel, it covers most things, including beans.

http://www.realseeds.co.uk/seedsavinginfo.html

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Kindest regards, David.

http://pigletsplots.blogspot.com/
updated - Sunday 19th at 2100hrs

...glad you mentioned that - otherwise anyone coming round to my house for bean casserole over winter may find their food with very slight Hazel's-tooth-shaped indentations on!

The Real Seed leaflet is very helpful too, PW - for any other first time bean savers amongst you, here's the salient bit that I needed....

"To collect the seeds, allow the pods to mature fully on the plant until they start to yellow and dry out. In wet weather, collect the pods individually as they get to this stage. Then spread out somewhere out of the rain with a good airflow until the pods are fully dry and brittle. Once they are dry, shell out the beans and dry further out of the pods. The beans should be dry enough that they break when you bite on them, rather than leaving a dent. Store in an airtight container. If they are well dried, and stored in a cool dark place, the beans will last around 3 years"

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Hazel
www.hazelandjanesallotment.blogspot.com
update Sun 30/11/2008......Indoor Allotmenteering too!.....

If they're not drying on the plant then I cut whole bunches bring them home and hang them from hooks in the shed. If you have an airing cupboard (I don't) then they dry quicker there. They do dry well in the shed, though. Main thing is to have good air circulation.

We save our beans by freezing them. I prefer the taste of the beans when they haven't been (oops) dried out. Just shell them and pop them in a plastic box or bags and bung them in the freezer.

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

Thats where Two Sheds gets her name from, one shed for storing tools and the other for drying her beans!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Hazel, My beans were gathered into the shed, but still weren't drying out, so I have podded the last few and frozen them while still quite soft. Most of my harvest dried perfectly, but the last few hanging on into October, didn't. I don't have anywhere dry and warm indoors, so I've eaten them or frozen them.

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

All our beans dryed on the plant exept the bolotty that are still greeny yellow at the the moment,
we lost all the soya beans to the rabbits or mice dint get one so had to go out and buy some new seeds going to reinforce the next batch or just sit there all night on gard with my gun

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Some things in their natural state have the most VIVID colors
Dobby

Dobby, Borlotti are SO slow to mature! They need a longer growing season than most French beans, plus I just read in Sarah Raven that they prefer a poor soil - too rich and they produce too much leaf, not enough bean.

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

ooppps think we got um in a bit late, oh well we live and learn

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Some things in their natural state have the most VIVID colors
Dobby