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I harvested a dinner plate full of Scarlet Runner beans. They were big--as long as my children's heads. They felt like the beans were mature inside. When I peeled them (which was no easy feat, by the way), the beans were still teeny. I ended up with about 2 tablespoons of beans. They tasted okay when I cooked them, but that is really a lot of trouble for not much.
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Later, I harvested some of the smaller beans and tried them as green beans. They feel sticky on the tongue, even after cooking. It was quite uncomfortable for me.
They have been coming in almost daily, but I can't bear to eat them. I don't like them shelled and I don't like them cooked like green beans. Now I am dithering about what to do with these plants. I like the beauty of the flowers. I like that hummingbirds and bumblebees stop by and drink nectar from them. But the taste appalls me.
I pulled all the Scarlet Runner Beans from my Twenty Foot Garden. I decided that they weren't worth the space back there. I just don't know what to do with the ones in the front yard garden.
I'm growing these for the first time this year too so cannot comment on the taste. But I read that they are best as a dry bean. So you could let the pods mature and dry out. Maybe you'll like them better that way?
ReplyDeleteI don't know... I am not really eager to taste them again.
DeleteI have never grown these! I may have to try them next season!
ReplyDeleteThey are fun. They are pretty. They don't win any points on taste, in my opinion.
DeleteSometimes things don't work as planned and you just have to chalk it up to experience. I grew eggplant last year and loved it, but my wife didn't like it all.
ReplyDeleteMy thing is to grow what I like and grow a lot of it so I can harvest and put away. That is why my main crops are corn, squash, field peas, butter beans, lettuce, and spinach. I grow tomatoes and peppers too, but only for the fun of it and to give most of them away.
Kris, I agree with you. I think I am going to chalk it up to experience. Now I just need to decide whether to leave them in the front yard garden, as flowers, or to try to grow some other "edible" in the front yard. I have to be careful not to grow anything overtly "vegetable" in that spot. My neighbors wouldn't stand for it.
DeleteMaybe you could plant some butter beans (lima beans) there. I grow the bush types, but there are many vining pole varieties that would run up like those scarlet runners.
DeleteThat's a good idea, Kris. I had been thinking along that line a little bit. I might try that.
DeleteBTW, I planted Mississippi Cream peas. They are growing beautifully. I'll have to do a blog post about them and what I learned from my mother-in-law.
Did you plant the beans themselves or buy plants already growing? It sounds like they weren't ready to pick because I just double-checked my scarlet runner seeds/beans and they are large and speckled. Let the ones in the front keep growing and see what happens. That may make a big difference.
ReplyDeleteI'm growing them, too, which is probably a mistake because I just read that they aren't very heat tolerant when it comes to Texas heat. We'll see. Mine are blooming but no pods yet.
I live in Mobile, Alabama, and we have a good bit of heat and humidity, too. I just started them earlier to compensate.
DeleteThanks for the tips.
I googled scarlet runner bean recipes and found this picture which shoes them and describes their size and color:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/25/FDUJ1IF28O.DTL
My scarlet runners didn't set fruit, but now I'm kind of glad they didn't....If the wildlife likes them then I would at least try them as a dry bean (unless you really need the space). I love the descriptions "as long as my children's heads" and "the taste appalls me"- very funny and very evocative.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Liz, for your kind comments about my descriptions.
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