Runner beans

[smallblueplanet]

Just about to start off some runners in rootrainers and find I have two packets - White Emergo and Scarlet Emperor. If I have to choose one (I do!) which should I chose? We have grown Moonlight in the past and really liked them but fancied a change. Ta.

[Jungle Jane]

In the rhs agm 2006 trial it says White Emergo have cropped well when the temperature was high,sounds good with the summers we’ve been having,I prefer the white flowers to the red if you want to choose by colour -
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/p...unnerbeans.pdf

[smallblueplanet]

In the rhs agm 2006 trial it says White Emergo have cropped well when the temperature was high,sounds good with the summers we’ve been having,I prefer the white flowers to the red if you want to choose by colour

Lol. I prefer to choose by taste. Grow runners for the OH as I prefer French beans.

[Nicos]

Obviously - go for 50:50 to see which do best for you!

I’ve never tried white emergo ….I’d be interested to see what you think of them!

[Vince G]

Always found Scarlet Emperor get stringy quite early. Not heard of the other one, but I tend to grow Lady Di which don't seem to go stringy and also Czar because when they start to go over, you can let them dry for butter beans.

Given up on growing runners in advance in pots as my lottie is a tad exposed and the wind seems to get them. So I sow direct in early May.

[ameno]

Given up on growing runners in advance in pots as my lottie is a tad exposed and the wind seems to get them. So I sow direct in early May.

I find wind damage to transplanted seedlings can be a problem, too. Sun scorch, as well.
However, I can't reliably sow direct as when I do most of the seeds get killed by bean fly larvae (they eat the germinating seedlings of peas and beans), so starting them in pots is my only option. And seeing as I grow runner beans for dry beans only, and thus grow some 60+ plants a year, that takes up a fair bit of space.

[mrsbusy]

"and seeing as I grow runner beans for dry beans only, and thus grow some 60+ plants a year, that takes up a fair bit of space."


that's alot of beans!

[ameno]

"and seeing as I grow runner beans for dry beans only, and thus grow some 60+ plants a year, that takes up a fair bit of space."


that's alot of beans!

Indeed. I sow them in modular trays of 15 cells, so I can fit 15 plants per drip tray, so I end up with four drip trays of runner beans in my conservatory.
And that's not counting the french beans I also grow (some for green beans, some also for dry beans).
They don't take up as much space at the allotment as you might think, though, as they can be grown quite close together.

This many plants gives me enough dry beans to last most of the year, in a variety of colours (I grow giant-seeded white runners, black-seeded runners, and my own accidental hybrid which produces giant-seeded beans in the standard purple and black colouration).