Runner Beans - Scarlet better than white this year?

[Bill Davy]

My home runners (Prize-winner) are poor this year. Looking round the
allotments this morning, lots of scarlet flowers with good foliage but
none of the white flowered ones seem to be doing well.

My haricot beans (also white flowered) are not doing well either.

This is very subjective (poor me, etc).

Any other observations? Is this a known effect (breeding, etc)?

[David Rance]

My home runners (Prize-winner) are poor this year.  Looking round the
allotments this morning, lots of scarlet flowers with good foliage but
none of the white flowered ones seem to be doing well.
My haricot beans (also white flowered) are not doing well either.
This is very subjective (poor me, etc).
Any other observations?  Is this a known effect (breeding, etc)?

I can only say that my white flowered runners are doing far better than
the red flowered ones this year.

However my French beans have done very badly. I don't think I had a
total of more than half a dozen beans from about twelve plants.

David

[Janet]

Post by Bill Davy
My home runners (Prize-winner) are poor this year. Looking round the
allotments this morning, lots of scarlet flowers with good foliage but
none of the white flowered ones seem to be doing well.
My haricot beans (also white flowered) are not doing well either.
This is very subjective (poor me, etc).
Any other observations? Is this a known effect (breeding, etc)?

I live in Scotland, where runner beans are not always
reliable. Last year (very dry) my scarlet runner beans
were rubbish.

This year, they are looking very promising; right up the
poles, lots of flowers, beans starting to form. (Scarlet
Emperor).

I'm also growing a new-to-me white flowered climbing bean
" Greek gigantes" grown just for the seeds (like large
butterbeans). They are also growing/flowering very well
though slightly behind the red S E , no visible beans yet.

Both were started in pots in unheated greenhouse, planted
out in May round bamboo cane wigwams. They were planted
out with some chicken pellets, watered in, and have since
been fed with home made comfrey tea. Other than applying
the tea, no other watering in such a damp summer.

May was warm and sunny here, June and July cool wet
cloudy.

My broad beans and various types of peas are also having a
good productive year. Even though there's been a
noticable reduction in flying insects to pollinate.

Janet

[Chris Green]

Post by Bill Davy
My home runners (Prize-winner) are poor this year. Looking round the
allotments this morning, lots of scarlet flowers with good foliage but
none of the white flowered ones seem to be doing well.
My haricot beans (also white flowered) are not doing well either.

Our french/haricot beans are incredibly productive this year, we have
far more than we can eat so will have to freeze some, etc. The red
flowered runner beans are looking good but no beans yet.

[Nick Maclaren]

Post by Chris Green

Post by Bill Davy
My home runners (Prize-winner) are poor this year. Looking round the
allotments this morning, lots of scarlet flowers with good foliage but
none of the white flowered ones seem to be doing well.
My haricot beans (also white flowered) are not doing well either.

Our french/haricot beans are incredibly productive this year, we have
far more than we can eat so will have to freeze some, etc. The red
flowered runner beans are looking good but no beans yet.

All of my Phaseolus are doing well, but I pregerminate them, start
in paper pots, and grow over a home-made cage. My broad beans did
well, but got rust. We don't find Phaseolus beans worth freezing, but
I grow Gigantes, Borlotti, Trail of Tears and Lazy Housewife for use
as dry beans, and eat only Cosse Violette as 'green' beans. Gigantes
are white-flowered runners, incidentally.

The real disaster has been carrots - I had to sow SIX times, and still
have not got a complete row. Parsley was nearly as bad, and parsnips
needed sowing three times. I even had to redo my chillis (indoors)
because many of the first ones died in the soil.

Both of my new and unusual vegetables (Chinese mallow and Chinese
violet cress) grew well but were Not Nice.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

[Chris Green]

Post by Nick Maclaren

Post by Chris Green

Post by Bill Davy
My home runners (Prize-winner) are poor this year. Looking round the
allotments this morning, lots of scarlet flowers with good foliage but
none of the white flowered ones seem to be doing well.
My haricot beans (also white flowered) are not doing well either.

Our french/haricot beans are incredibly productive this year, we have
far more than we can eat so will have to freeze some, etc. The red
flowered runner beans are looking good but no beans yet.

All of my Phaseolus are doing well, but I pregerminate them, start
in paper pots, and grow over a home-made cage. My broad beans did
well, but got rust. We don't find Phaseolus beans worth freezing, but
I grow Gigantes, Borlotti, Trail of Tears and Lazy Housewife for use
as dry beans, and eat only Cosse Violette as 'green' beans. Gigantes
are white-flowered runners, incidentally.
The real disaster has been carrots - I had to sow SIX times, and still
have not got a complete row. Parsley was nearly as bad, and parsnips
needed sowing three times. I even had to redo my chillis (indoors)
because many of the first ones died in the soil.
Both of my new and unusual vegetables (Chinese mallow and Chinese
violet cress) grew well but were Not Nice.

Our courgettes are doing very well this year. Our broad beens were
very tasty but not a good crop, we only got a couple or three meals
worth from them.

We do a mix of starting off in pots in the greenhouse and planting
direct, all runner/french/climbing beans seem to have done well either
way this year.