Over winter Runner Bean Roots?

[reed]

Anyone have experience over wintering  runner bean roots? Mine always die but I think they generally do so even before it gets cold. They just die like any other beans it seems like. This year they appeared to die a little early, I assumed from heat and dryness but it turns out they must have just gone a little dormant. I was cleaning up trellis and noticed new growth on almost all of them . I dug up one of the smaller ones to see what they look like. Puny little thing I thought for such a large vine.


I was thinking of maybe leaving a few in the ground and mulch heavy but a little unsure of than because my soil is such heavy clay and stays so wet through winter. Also thought of putting some in an old cooler with some sand and moist leaves and burying it a couple feet deep. 

Any thoughts? 

[andyb]

I overwintered some scarlet runner beans when I was living in Tucson, AZ ten or fifteen years ago. We had moderate frosts throughout the winter but the ground never froze solid. I didn't know at the time that they could be perennial, so I was surprised when new leaves popped up in the spring. Probably not too relevant to your conditions.

I also did a trial of a dozen varieties this summer and chopped the plants off a few inches above the soil. I'm leaving the roots as-is to see if any overwinter. I'm currently in Seattle, where the top few inches of the ground freeze solid some winters but not others. I'll let you know what happens

[Joseph Lofthouse]

This fall, when I harvested the runner beans, I yanked them up by the roots. Out of about 100 plants, I found 3 that looked like they had great tubers. So I collected them in order to share with a close collaborator. There may have been a few more if I had dug them rather than pulling.

[diane]

Thanks for posting. I always read about this at the wrong time of year, so have never done anything about it. I grew eight kinds
of runners this year, so as soon as I collect the seeds, I'll just snip off the runners, and leave the roots and label in the ground.
Oh, maybe the poles too so I don't forget to check come spring.

[billw]

They don't like to be wet. If I leave them in the ground, they succumb to root rot. If I dig them up and put them in pots in the cooler, most of them survive.

[reed]

Thanks everybody. I figured they probably wouldn't like the wet clay in my garden so I'm gonna dig them up and bury them deep protected from getting too wet. Hope some of them have the great big roots like Joseph's.

[paquebot]

The tuberous roots that Joseph showed are those which will winter over. Problem here is that the roots seldom get big enough to be called tubers. Nothing again this year fro, Insuk's Wang Kong which was the only runner grown. Supposedly the tuberous roots can be stored in a frost-free area and restarted in the spring. Would like to try it but need the tubers first!

Martin

[reed]

I think I'll dig the rest of mine up tomorrow just to see what I got. Stems on some are larger than that one so maybe I'll have some actual tubers. Mine are a mix of several and mostly my own seed from last year.

I don't know though how much effort I'll put into them. I got lots of other projects and I'm not sure I'm that interested in working on something that can't take care of itself a little better, at least not one that is marginally productive at best. Might be better to keep growing by seed in hopes of getting better production, no genetic shake up in keeping the same one.

[steev]

Gotta put your interest where it catches your interest; those whose interests don't align with yours will be fine, unless they think they have a right to tell you what you should do (on their behalf).

[galina]

Have dug up plants before the first frost many times. I cut the vines to a few inches above the roots, then dig up the roots and put them into a double plastic bag (one bag inside another). Add enough soil to cover the roots and knot the handles. Very occasional watering and frost-free storage and they survive. Not every root does, but fat roots usually make it if kept frost-free and not too damp. The trick is to get them in before the tops freeze, afterwards they don't seem to make it, even if it did not frost into the ground. I also tried mulching, but in our soil (clay) and climate (can get down to -16C) mulching does not work.

[steev]

There you go; what you can do, where you are, is what is right.

There are no "totally definately" answers to anything, let alone gardening, for chrissake.

If there is any rule to gardening, as well as life, in general, it is: "It's an adventure and a learning experience".

[reed]

I dug a few more of the beans with larger stems but didn't find any with tuberous roots. I wonder why, my season is much longer than Joseph's so theoretically mine grew for a longer time but his developed the big roots.

[Joseph Lofthouse]

My original runner bean seeds included a variety that is know for it's tuberous roots.

[walt]

Do you remember the name and source of the bean known for its roots?

[Joseph Lofthouse]

Nov 12, 2016 14:09:43 GMT -5 walt said:

Do you remember the name and source of the bean known for its roots?

The variety that finally survived in my fields were the "Tarajumara" that Holly shared with me. They had been promiscuously pollinated with perennial varieties before I got the seed.