Scarlet runner beans.
 

Scarlet runner beans I know they have been talked about here before someplace but I cant find it.
Thinking of finding some and planting them in the front for show and the critters.
What is your experience and in what type of soil.
In good soil how long (Vines)could I expect them to get?

Worth

mine used to grow up into the nearby hazelnut tree ....... very long vines, but slow to set here in PNW

Runner beans don't set beans in my climate- 2 years ago I grew one from Park's -I think it was named Stardust--it made beautiful vines with huge foliage and blossoms--not one bean! I posted asking what was wrong and someone said runner beans only set in cool summers-which ain't here!

[QUOTE=JoParrott;527560]Runner beans don't set beans in my climate- 2 years ago I grew one from Park's -I think it was named Stardust--it made beautiful vines with huge foliage and blossoms--not one bean! I posted asking what was wrong and someone said runner beans only set in cool summers-which ain't here![/QUOTE]

There is also from what I have heard too much nitrogen that causes this.
I dont buy this to a point.
I think it is an imbalance of fertilizer.
My reasoning behind this is I planted pole beans last year and the soil was hammered with nitrogen plus everything else.
I had a good crop.
Worth

I also don't agree on too much nitrogen- because I grew Kwintus pole beans close to the runner beans, and got a great harvest--- I don't supplement my soil with nitrogen, so I know that wasn't the problem. I looked back to some of my posts on Dave's Garden Forum--I received several replies that runner beans need cool, humid summers to set beans. Coming from 3 different people I tend to agree.

[QUOTE=JoParrott;527580]I also don't agree on too much nitrogen- because I grew Kwintus pole beans close to the runner beans, and got a great harvest--- I don't supplement my soil with nitrogen, so I know that wasn't the problem. I looked back to some of my posts on Dave's Garden Forum--I received several replies that runner beans need cool, humid summers to set beans. Coming from 3 different people I tend to agree.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the info.
It doesn't look like it would do well for me.

Worth

I just did a wee bit of looking on line, not gonna happen.:lol:
One of the problems is people say they come from Mexico and bla bla.
Well Mexico isn't all desert hot and dry.:lol:
I will look for some sort of cow pea or yard long bean to grow like I did one year.
I need something to fill in my arbor and I want a big bean Teepee in the front yard.
Worth

hmmm scarlet runner beans grow well here. maybe 12 feet, lots of red blossoms that attract hummingbirds and bees. Very attractive and the beans are delicious, very large but delicious eaten under say 10".
I think they would grow well for you. they are from the mountains in central America but also are known to be grown commercially in north Africa and Greece according to wiki.
never know til you try. They are very ornamental as well as edible.
I have also grown a Dutch variety with white seed and white blooms. very similar.
KarenO

[QUOTE=KarenO;527600]hmmm scarlet runner beans grow well here. maybe 12 feet, lots of red blossoms that attract hummingbirds and bees. Very attractive and the beans are delicious, very large but delicious eaten under say 10".
I think they would grow well for you. they are from the mountains in central America but also are known to be grown commercially in north Africa and Greece according to wiki.
never know til you try. They are very ornamental as well as edible.
I have also grown a Dutch variety with white seed and white blooms. very similar.
KarenO[/QUOTE]

If I run across some I am going to give them a try anyway.
It wont be the first time I grew something I wasn't supposed to be able to grow.

I still have a volunteer pinto bean plant growing in the yard.:lol:

Worth

didn't know this .........

[QUOTE]Unlike snap beans, runner beans require pollination by bees to set seed.[/QUOTE][URL]https://www.westcoastseeds.com/shop/vegetable-seeds/bean-seeds/runner-bean-seeds/[/URL]

How about Chinese red noodle beans (Vigna)? Very vigorous for me (topped an 8-9 foot trellis), seemed to love the heat, and good in stir fries. Glad to share some seed (a few years old now) if you PM your mailing address, Worth!

[QUOTE=PhilaGardener;527610]How about Chinese red noodle beans (Vigna)? Very vigorous for me (topped an 8-9 foot trellis), seemed to love the heat, and good in stir fries. Glad to share some seed (a few years old now) if you PM your mailing address, Worth![/QUOTE]


Thanks for the offer but I am swamped in beans.
I still have to figure out where I am going to plant some roman type beans from south America.:lol:

Worth

Why not the Hyacinth Bean for you Worth? It is also an ornamental perennial, edible and vining. Very much like the scarlet runner, but it is a more tropical plant.

[QUOTE=Redbaron;527639]Why not the Hyacinth Bean for you Worth? It is also an ornamental perennial, edible and vining. Very much like the scarlet runner, but it is a more tropical plant.[/QUOTE]

I think one of my friends grew that one year and it took up the whole fence I might look for it today.
What I would really like to have is grapes growing on the arbor.
And I need to dig up a Butterfly vine and move it.
Worth

I couldn't get them to set in AZ but they were quite pretty in the spring.
Now,hyacinth bean on the other hand,made itself into quite a native in my AZ yard. That is a much better bet for your climate.
I grew mine up the palm trees with some strings that I hung from up high with a ladder. Once they got close to the canopy they covered it. The whole thing was pretty amazing to look at.

Well I went to HD to see what the had and they didnt have anything but the confounded yard long beans.
I didn't get any I have some time to decide
What I did get was 4 grape root stocks like I said I wanted.

Black monukka.
Mars.
Thomson seedless.
Red Flame.

One of these has got to work.:lol:

Worth

I've been growing runner beans for 7 years. I've been able to get a crop from them the past 3 years. Last year the biggest crop ever. They don't set fruit well during hot weather. A bit at a time I'm selecting for a strain that can make seeds in hot weather. Mine grow to the top of 6 foot bean poles, and have plenty of vine left over.

Well, Worth, it sounds like you have been given many varieties to choose from!

[QUOTE=Worth1;527683]Well I went to HD to see what the had and they didnt have anything but the confounded yard long beans.
I didn't get any I have some time to decide
What I did get was 4 grape root stocks like I said I wanted.

Black monukka.
Mars.
Thomson seedless.
Red Flame.

One of these has got to work.:lol:

Worth[/QUOTE] Not necessarily. I did that two years running and nothing survived. :cry: Next time I am trying a scuppernog / muscadine

I'm getting started on my front yard Teepee tomorrow.
I am going to take a chunk of wood and drill 4 compound angle holes at 30° and insert 10" joints of 3/4 rigid conduit.

Worth

I can't sit still for a minute I get an idea and I have to act on it.
Here is the test pyramid and how I did it.
I set my drill press table up on two 30 degree angles at the same time and made a miniature.:lol:
Worth
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Just be cautious about eating uncooked scarlet runners or hyacinth beans. Raw they may contain somewhat toxic glucosides.

[QUOTE=4season;527786]Just be cautious about eating uncooked scarlet runners or hyacinth beans. Raw they may contain somewhat toxic glucosides.[/QUOTE]

I wont be eating any poison beans raw.
All beans contain poison raw and I don't think many people know that.

Worth

Dry hyacinth beans are said to have very high levels of cyanogenic glycocides. Some people stay clear of them, some people double boil them changing the water between boils, some people treat them as regular dry beans, etc...

I'd say it's best to really read up on them, if you're going to try them.

[QUOTE=4season;527786]Just be cautious about eating uncooked scarlet runners or hyacinth beans. Raw they may contain somewhat toxic glucosides.[/QUOTE]

The snaps from runner beans are no more toxic raw than those of common snap beans... or I wouldn't be here to post this. ;) I eat a lot of snaps raw as I harvest, provided that the seeds inside are undeveloped (Fortex is really good raw). It is the developed seeds that contain the greatest concentration of toxins, and for beans of the genus Phaseolus (common beans, runner beans, and limas) those toxins are destroyed by cooking. I would second Tormato's caution about eating mature hyacinth beans, though. The same caution would apply to eating jack beans or sword beans.

A kind member here (imp) sent me some Isuks wang kong runner bean seeds.
I am going to plant them in small containers today and then transplant them out when they get big.
This way the will have a chance in the cooler weather to do something.
I have looked on lime and the British are the ones to get information from on these things because they are very popular there.
One expert starts them in cups and puts them out when the temperatures are no less than about 53 degrees or so.
My plan is to turn my late Texas winter and early spring into an English summer.
By looking at the long range forecast there shows to be nothing even close to a freeze for the rest of the spring.:yes:

Worth

Hello Worth.
I grew runner beans down here in Melbourne and tried to get them to flower before the heat of January-February. An Autumn flowering would work better for my situation as well.
Runner beans make an excellent dried bean too and the seed coat colours are beautiful.

The early germinating in the house has paid off.
They are now reaching 3 feet.:shock:

Worth

[QUOTE=Zeedman;528742]The snaps from runner beans are no more toxic raw than those of common snap beans... or I wouldn't be here to post this. ;) I eat a lot of snaps raw as I harvest, provided that the seeds inside are undeveloped (Fortex is really good raw). It is the developed seeds that contain the greatest concentration of toxins, and for beans of the genus Phaseolus (common beans, runner beans, and limas) those toxins are destroyed by cooking. I would second Tormato's caution about eating mature hyacinth beans, though. The same caution would apply to eating jack beans or sword beans.[/QUOTE]

agreed. eating green unmature pole beans is great. I dont eat the pods. Runner beans can be eaten the same, but their pods are even more tough and fuzzy, but since i don't eat the pods anyway it's all good. Once the beans mature and dry down is when you should pay more attention to chemicals that they produce.

It has been awhile since I have visited this thread.
Here is one and the first of my runner bean blooms.
There is no doubt I will get running bean set by planting out early.
They are starting to bloom right after some volunteer pinto beans are blooming.
I was very excited to see this bloom today.
Worth
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