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Post by michaeljohnson on Aug 31, 2009 9:23:04 GMT -5
They seem to look an awful lot like what we in the UK call (Butter beans) they sell them in tins and jars and look just as big as those, I may be wrong regarding the variety-but we can also buy large quantities of the dried beans if we wish.
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Post by grunt on Aug 31, 2009 14:23:20 GMT -5
Michael: What you call butterbeans are otherwise known as Lima beans, not the same thing at all.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Aug 31, 2009 20:02:37 GMT -5
Dan, I thought there was a difference between lima beans and butter beans. Here in the "Deep South", folks grew "butterbeans". But then when we went to California, they had "limabeans". The only difference I ever noticed, aside from the difference in taste between fresh and dried, was that the butterbeans were smaller than the limabeans.
I think I must be "beanignorant"!!!! =oD
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Post by grunt on Sept 3, 2009 4:26:04 GMT -5
These are not the same thing, but a good size none the less.  They are Spagna Blanco that we got from Rebsie. Only starting to harvest a few now, although they started blossoming the end of June. Lots of blossoms, but few of them set. There are 50 beans in that photo, and they weighed 102 grams. That works out to 14 to the ounce. I won't know until harvest is over if we will have enough for trading, but they will get grown out again next year. We only had 8 or 10 plants this year, and I don't know yet what the rate of return will be. Lots more bean photos (labeled now) at [a href="  "] [/a], although these are the only harvested ones shown so far. |
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Post by grunt on Sept 3, 2009 4:27:16 GMT -5
Jo:what they call butterbeans are just baby limas
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Post by PatrickW on Sept 3, 2009 12:42:18 GMT -5
Yes, you have if figured out. What Brits call butterbeans are lima beans. What Americans call butter beans are like the picture Dan posted.
Americans usually call the bean Michel has a Potato Bean. The Greek name, and perhaps the most commonly used in Europe for these are Gigantes (pronounced Yiyantes, in the same way Gyros is pronounced Yiros). They come from an area near Lake Precpes, which lies both in Greek Macedonia and The Former Yugoslovia Republic of Macedonia. As well as battling over the use of the name Macedonia, the origin of this bean is just as fiercely disputed, with each side clamming it as theirs.
Of course the French also claim it as theirs, and probably other countries as well. Of course everyone is right, because as it is grown in other areas it will of course adapt to it's local climate and change.
The Greeks however have won the legal battle here, because Gigantes of Precpes is a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) meaning in Europe they aren't allowed to be called Gigantes unless they come from this part of Greece. A bit like Champagne here has to come from a particular region of France, or Feta Cheese has to come from Greece. If you don't understand what I'm going on about here, don't worry about it, it's just a European thing...
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Post by grunt on Sept 5, 2009 2:44:20 GMT -5
The Spagna Blanco are runner beans, not limas, although the dry ones do look somewhat like limas in the photo.
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Post by bunkie on Sept 5, 2009 8:30:15 GMT -5
so they're 'white/light green' runner beans dan? i've never seen white/light green runners before. have you tasted them? why did the blossoms not set? a trait or the weather? i'd be interested in a few seeds to grow for stock for you and to just plain try next year if you have them.
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Post by grungy on Sept 5, 2009 12:51:43 GMT -5
Bunkie,
we are not sure, I personally think it was the weather. We went from a cool spring into summer heat with a bang. We are hoping to get a jump on it next year and plant them out, pre-sprouted with home made hot caps. (read here, plastic milk jugs with the bottoms cut out and a piece of tulle tied on the top where the cap use to be).
Even a lot of the tomatoes just didn't really like the heat.
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Post by bunkie on Sept 6, 2009 10:17:46 GMT -5
yeah val, we had the same. after a cold spring we went up into instant summer in the 90's. then we had real extremes every week or more. we could tell the temperature of the day just by looking at the tomato blossoms, all dropping, or all loaded with fresh ones!
all the beans have done well this year tho. we started them all in paper pots. had some new ones that are late, but think that must be their trait. also, just about all the dry beans never were able to eat as shelled. they formed and immediately filled with large seed. i have never seen this before.
with the weather patterns being so dramatic every few days, it was amazing to watch the plants and see their reactions!
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Post by PatrickW on Sept 6, 2009 10:29:42 GMT -5
Bunkie, we are not sure, I personally think it was the weather. We went from a cool spring into summer heat with a bank. We are hoping to get a jump on it next year and plant them out, pre-sprouted with home made hot caps. (read here, plastic milk jugs with the bottoms cut out and a piece of tulle tied on the top where the cap use to be). Even a lot of the tomatoes just didn't really like the heat. Runner beans are different from others in that they don't like heat, at least this is what I understand. I haven't really grown them very much, this is more just what I've heard. Runner beans are certainly frost tender, and don't like near frosts, so they may not appreciate being put out too early. They may actually appreciate more being set out late, so they can mature in the fall instead of mid-summer. I understand too they can come back when the weather cools off and start producing again, so if you haven't pulled them up you may want to leave them in the ground and see if they do anything more. |
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Post by silverseeds on Sept 6, 2009 10:39:27 GMT -5
Runner beans can b perrennial even in cold areas, dieing back and coming back from root the bnext year. Im trying to find a european seed company which had various bush types, but I cant find them anymore.
So they will produce earlier from root, however lik patrick said they will not produce in heat, but can produce early and late in the same season. they need a pollinator to trip the flowers, even though their flowers are self fertile.
dave gave me a bunch of varieties, Including some with the largest beans I EVER saw. I cant wait to see what these do. (thanks dave) But if anyone shops european countries and sees a bunch of types of bush runner beans let me know.
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Post by grungy on Sept 6, 2009 10:44:08 GMT -5
Only problem with early fall / late summer planting of beans here, is that our heat finally broke about the 29th of August and we expect our first frost around the 5th of October. That only gives roughly 37 days for beans to mature in full. Unfortunately I don't know of a bean that can do it.
I have left the SB beans in and we intend to keep harvesting up to the last day possible. I wont have very many to offer this year, but we intend to plant them again next year and start them a lot earlier, as I said in the previous post. We are hoping to get them up, running and have the first set of blossoms set before the heat starts.
These past few years, it seems like the weather jumps from cool (read mid 60's day/high 40's night right into high 80's-low 90's day / mid 60's nights (all temps. in F). If you can get your garden in early enough to get the plants off to a good start they seem to handle the heat differently than if we planted them at the normal time (May 24th-June 10th). Unfortunately the fall of 2008 left us short of the fall work so we were behind from the get go.
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Post by bunkie on Sept 7, 2009 9:01:38 GMT -5
i've never heard of 'bush' runner beans?! here's some sources i found silverseeds... www.gardenersnet.com/vegetable/bean.htm - 24k - Cached - Similar pages Royal Horticultural Society - Gardening Advice: Growing Beans Non-climbing bush or dwarf runner beans produce respectable crops of rather lower-quality beans than the climbers.... www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0507/beans.aspWhite Half-Runner BEAN, SNAP (BUSH) 28g seed - Snap Bush Beans (Mississippi Skip Bean) 60 days. A Southern favorite. 'White Half-Runner' is known for its excellent flavor and outstanding ability to withstand heat... www.southernexposure.com/productlist/prods/13106.htmlhey val, what about shading the beans to help keep them cooler? |
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Post by grunt on Sept 7, 2009 16:28:48 GMT -5
Bunkie: I'll field this one. That would work for bush beans, but I think you might have trouble setting up shade clothe 15' tall. Unless you planted them on the north side of something like Hickory King corn, which also goes 15'+, or north of existing light shade sources. Some of the beans we had this year hit the tops of the 12' poles by mid-July, and are still trying to get taller. I have one runner bean (Frijol Aluvia Gordo) that snapped its support pole a few days ago, despite having a secondary pole put in, and is still trying to strangle anything within 6' of it, from top to bottom. Unfortunately, I don't yet know if I'm going to get even replacement seed out of it, because it didn't start setting anything until the end of July, and I can't see what it set then anymore. I think the shade idea is definitely worth pursuing with tomatoes when the heat hits, and we will likely try it next year, if it is like the last few have been here.
Sorry, I started babbling again
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