Bianca des Spagna-or whatever they call it.

[michaeljohnson]

I just want to report here -on the progress of some beans that Dan-(Grunt) sent me earlier on this year, they were the Giant white bean Called Bianca des Spagna or something like that.

So far- the beans have been outstanding in performance, miles in front of anything else, as all my beans were sown at the same time-suddenly the Bianca des Spagna beans shot up like crazy and are now eight or nine foot tall, and one mass of flowers all in full bloom from the top to the bottom of the plant-amazing to see.

They must be a type of very early bean or something, as all the other runner type beans are only about six foot tall at the moment and have only just begun to flower lower down the plant and appear to be at least two to three weeks behind the white flowered Bianca des Spagna,

At the moment I am very impressed with them and am hoping for a bumper crop. ;D

[Hristo]

Indeed, it's very vigorous and early variety, but it sets poorly during high temps periods (or at least I think this is the reason). This is often a problem here, but for you should not be. Report later how it sets for you. Last 2 years (since I grow it) we had quite hot summers and low early set. This year past 3-4 weeks we have unusually low temps - mostly around 20-25 C, rarely up to 30C, and it rain almost every day. If the plants set well I will know that the past years low set was due to high temps.

[kathm]

They sound brilliant. I had some labelled Spagna Bianca - I can't believe they aren't the same thing - which grew well but the pods only produced a couple or 3 beans each - mind you, they weren't half big beans! For the space they took, they didn't deliver much of a crop so I haven't grown them since - still got a few stashed away in case I change my ming though!

[nuts]

I planted some spagna blanca too(from grunt too),
I was amazed how it was growing and flowering like crazy,but well,a few days ago I noticed that there was no bean set yet.
Over here temps were 28-32C(80-90F) for a while, and now it's well over 32C.
Maybe it's too hot over here.
michael and Hristo,keep us informed if yours are setting beans.
Not sure there will be enough beans to replant next year,but there is still hope.

[grunt]

I'm pretty sure the low production is due to high temperatures. I grew them last year, and saw literally no setting until the temperatures dropped below about 80F (27 C). I started some again this year but an unusually late frost knocked them off. I may try and sow another batch, just in case they have time to mature now.

[michaeljohnson]

You guys appear to be right about them not being very good setters, after I read this info I decided to go out in the garden and have a look at mine, which had been one mass of bloom on these plants for several days now, and lo -and behold, many of the flowers at the back of every bunch of flowers have started to drop off, and had not set at all- how disappointing - as I was hoping for a barrow load of beans from them .

[grunt]

You may get them yet Michael, once the temperatures moderate a bit.

[michaeljohnson]

I hope so as they are such darned good plants and still growing-some of the most vigorous plants I have ever seen ;D

How's the Jescot long un's doing Dan, have you got any beans on those yet, even if tiny at the moment, if so -expect beans up to 30" inches long with lots of curls and twists in them, nice flavor too if pulled around fifteen inches long before they get too stringy.

[grunt]

Michael: I'm only starting to get blossoms on some of the beans now, and Jescot's is not one of them yet. The plants are healthy and starting to climb readily. I have them on a pole that has a very vigorous variety growing on the other side of it, and will be adding a reinforcing pole to it, because the other variety (Frijol Aluvia Gordo, a PCGRIN acquisition) had so much foliage last year that it snapped the support pole and still tried to swallow its neighbors. I'll post photos when they both get a bit of bulk to them.

[bunkie]

we're growing dan's Spagna Blanco Bean too this year. i started them in homemade paper pots, and they went in the ground a couple plus weeks ago due to the wet and cold weather. the last week has been wicked hot 80's and 90's and the growth on the plants has been in leaps and bounds. i figured they liked the hot weather???! will report on how they set.

michael or grunt, i'd like to try the Jescot long next year of you have any spare seed.

[grunt]

Remind me later bunkie. Mine are starting to put out blossoms now. It's nice to finally get the sort of weather that kicks things into action, even if it does get a bit uncomfortable. My corn is going nuts now. I had tassels on my Painted Mountain on June 20, and the plants were only 18" tall. Now I've got cobs forming and the plants are taller than I am. Pictures soon

[michaeljohnson]

Those-Frigjo aluvia or whatever they call them sounds very interesting, save me a few seeds of it at the end of the season-sounds a good U'n.

[grunt]

Assuming I get a harvest from them, remind me later Michael. I had a ton of foliage last year, but only about 6 pods off the whole works. I'm not sure if it is temperature or day length that is doing the limited setting, but am hoping it's temperature. This is a variety that starts multiplying tendrils right at the base of the plant. Starts out with white blossoms, switches to red blossoms for a month or so, then shifts back to white blossoms. I think it must be a hybrid or a cross, because this year I have some vines that are pale green/white stemmed, and others that are red. It may have been that way last year, but if so, I didn't notice. I have white blossoms on it again this year. And Jescot's has some flowers on it now.

[michaeljohnson]

I am just beginning to get a few beans setting now on the Bianca des Spagna and have about a dozen beans hanging down at the moment, the bees are still working the flowers on a daily basis-so I am hoping for more,

Having studied the beans habits-so far, I have come to the conclusion that I might get much better results on bean setting if I sowed the seeds three or four weeks after the main lot of runner beans, as it appears to me that because of the very prolific flowering of this variety early in the season, it would benefit them a lot more to time the flowering a bit later in the season so that they catch the right temp and humidity, plus the main influx of pollinator bees for that first massive flush of flowers a few weeks later, this might result in much better setting than it did this year, so next year I shall do just that-and see what it brings.

[kathm]

I'm growing Fabes del la Granja Asturiana as seed guardian for the Heritage Seed Library and they have been the earliest to set beans this year (among the climbers). They are like a big butter bean and are a french bean type, not a runner, like I think Spagna Bianca is. They look like a decent fresh eating bean at this stage - I must rry one or two to report back - but all my crop this year, apart from what I keep back to 'guard' next year, goes to the HSL. Next year I will be able to keep a few for myself.
When I took them on I found they are used in lots of tapas type dishes, as you'd expect. These have set far more beans already than my Spagna Biancas set they year I grew them. I have high hopes of a decent crop of big white Spanish beans from these!