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Tall Bolotti beans. Last year I grew some tall bolotti that i bought off ebay. Even though i only had two plants they cropped well and provided me with plenty of beans for my casseroles and spag bols. I have no idea which variety they were. This year I bought seed (Firetongue) but they will only grow to a few feet and are a bit of a waste of space unless i can squeeze them in with my runners. Does anyone know what the tall variety could be?

There are climbing and dwarf varieties of borlottos, you need to be careful. It sounds like you may have got the dwarf one by mistake.

There are two "Lingua di Fuoco" available from Thompson and Morgan (I think) - they say on them which is which.

Thanks. the ones i bought were Firetongue. They will probably be ok but I always think tall varieties are more space saving.

I just found the ones i want from Seeds of Italy.

Sarah Raven does the Climbing Borlotti Beans too. I have them growing now at about 3ft. I am SO looking forward to them! Never grown them before, and I do remember reading to 'beware' of Borlotto/Borlotti? or something, as one meant dwarf, the other climbing?

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I grew both the climbing and dwarf varieties last year along with butter beans.
Very similar growth to runner beans but fatter pods!
Climbers were ok but the dwarf variety was a disaster!

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I'm growing borlotto firetounge for the first time this year (just realised they are dwarf! mmmm, those tall canes may be too tall ) has anyone got any tips on how to grow beans? I'm also growing some purple french beans as well. How often do I water them? Should I mulch? Should/what should I feed them? Many thanks! Bernie
PS Just reading Julys GYO - at least I can plant the dwarf borlotto in pots.

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In the ground, I always make sure there's a deep trench filled with my home made compost and then backfilled with the soil. I do this becasue it's traditional! However, as far as I am aware, this is to make a moisture retentive sub-layer because beans love moisture. Bit late to tell you this now, but keep them well watered when the beans are filling out.

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Updated November 17th - The Big Dig

Just to clarify...

There are two versions of "Firetongue" (this is a translation of the original Italian name "lingua di Fuoco"). The two versions carry the same name, but one is dwarf and one is climbing. Companies which sell both make it clear which is which on the packet, but not all places sell both, and they may not even realise there are two types.

There are other types of borlotto bean (borlotti is just the plural) which look similar to "Lingua di Fuoco", but they have different names.

The trick is to read all the description and ask questions if it is not clear.

Seeds of Italy has a few varieties including both the dwarf and climbing Lingua di Fuoco - it's worth a look if you are still unclear.

Hi DDL

Beans like it wet and warm, sunny and sheltered. Best watered at dusk to avoid leaf scorch. I grow early and late crops in the green house- then outside in summer. I start them all in modules. They can tend to get flattened so a 2ft cane with a drilled cork on top- works well and I'd suggest 3 plants tied to each cane. A mulching when established will probably help. You shouldn't need to feed them if you have happy soil- although, that said, I think last year I gave a dressing of blood, fish and bone at planting, and a comfrey watering at flowering...they enjoyed that!

If you are growing the Borlotto for haricots, you could plant in a block with less support as you wont have to pick regularly. Fresh beans I often 'pick' with scissors as it can be annoying to tear away the branch with the bean.

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