Over winter Runner Bean Roots?

[philagardener]

Interesting!  Native Seed/SEARCH lists a white seeded Mexican variety of P. coccineus named Tarahumara Bordal.

[Joseph Lofthouse]

These beans are 4 generations removed from what I originally received, but as far as I can remember, the "Tarajumara" looked like this. The grid is 1". Looks like they match "Tarajumara Tekomari".

[steev]

Pretty. Any clue whether the tuberous roots are of any food value?

[philagardener]

Supposedly edible but I don't know how they taste (yet). Mine don't get very large this far North, but I also may not have varieties that form large roots.

[zeedman]

Although I've heard that you can lift & store runner bean roots, I've never noted enlarged roots in the past, probably due to my short season. This year, though, the freeze came very late (three days ago) and the plants appear to have taken advantage of that. While taking down a trellis today, I found some fairly substantial tubers (one was pulled out accidentally). The ones I pulled had a well-defined central tuber, and some are over 1" wide. I'll try to post a photo when I dig up the rest. The variety is Aeron Purple Star, a purple-podded runner developed in the U.K.

The vines were touched - but not killed - by frost, so I hope that does not adversely affect my attempt to winter them over. If they appear to deteriorate, I will attempt to sprout them indoors under lights, and hopefully transplant them when mild weather returns.

I grew Bianco de Spagna in my rural garden, I will have to check if they developed tubers as well.

[steev]

It's so interesting what people find out about plants when they aren't dealing in agribusiness; so many different plants and time to observe/think about them.

I think that in the last century, we've not only lost many varieties, but much knowledge of how they can be utilized, aside from waste or composting.

[zeedman]

Nov 15, 2016 1:54:09 GMT -5 steev said:

I think that in the last century, we've not only lost many varieties, but much knowledge of how they can be utilized, aside from waste or composting.

Maybe that is the reason some cultivars go extinct... not because they aren't useful, but because we've forgotten how to use them, or that use is no longer relevant. We are far less self-sufficient than our forebears, so qualities important to someone whose life depended upon their harvest have gradually become meaningless. A cultivar bred for long winter storage in a root cellar becomes irrelevant when you can buy refrigerated produce 24/7/365. All that could change, of course, with one EMP.

[steev]

True, that. I'm not ungrateful that our lives are (currently) less precarious, but I regret the loss of knowledge, not only in case of SHTF, but loss of depth of experience, loss of competence to cope and the optimistic confidence that provides; the sense that one can muddle through is vital in hard times, when one needs the hope that one can persevere until things get better.

Indeed, life could change with one EMP, and with less knowledge, we will be much worse off: victims of technology without pre-tech knowledge; fucked, coming and going.

'Kay, I'm gonna go to the rant section.

[paquebot]

I tried piling a lot of leaves on top of Insuk's Wang Kong one winter but they didn't survive. Not surprised since I had never found tubers under any other runner. Grew that one again this year and nothing but simple roots.

Martin

[reed]

I forgot about my runner / common cross vine. Maybe the biggest bean vine I ever saw with a trunk as big around as a nickel. I dug it up and found the same puny little roots. Probably wouldn't have kept it anyway, I didn't get a tea cup of beans from it. I will plant the beans next year to see what happens.

[steve1]

For what it's worth runner beans over winter in suburban Melbourne Australia with ease. Have had several go 4 years so far. No frost this winter to speak of. I can't say I paid them any attention, flowers already on Scarlett's in a pot. The others are amongst some weeds - will have a look and let you know.

[paquebot]

I think the key is that I don't have a long enough growing season. They may be alive and surviving toward the end but not growing. As it is, most varieties don't start setting pods until August which is 4 months after planting. They just nicely start producing and frost stops everything.

Martin

[zeedman]

Dug up the rest of the Aeron Purple Star today; nearly all have a fairly large central crown/tuber, with fat roots radiating out from that. They were heavily nodulated too, and since the nodules are white, I don't think the roots were damaged by the frost. A couple tubers have small shoots starting to emerge. I took a photo, but have had trouble trying to upload it to Photobucket.

It looks like I have been given a golden opportunity, one I am not likely to see again... now if I can only figure out how to store them? Do I need to let them dry a bit to trigger dormancy, or should they be kept moist? This topic came up once on another forum, and first-hand experience with lifting & storing the tubers seems to be hard to come by.

[steev]

Best of luck with that; got any indoor storage/growing facility?

[billw]

I put them in bags of dry potting soil in the refrigerator.