Amateur Gardening – 10 August 2019

10 AUGUST 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 45

Gardening’s king of trivia and brain-teasers, Graham Clarke

THEmostflavoursomeandtende

runnerbeansare6-8in(15-20cm)

long.Thepodsshouldbeflat,

smoothandbrightgreen,

encasingcrisp,slightlyjuicy

interiorsandsmall,undeveloped

seeds.Thismeansthatthey are

bestwhenimmature.

Thehangingpodswillhide

amongtheleaves,inevitably

meaningthatsomewillbemissed g

picking.If lefttoolong,theybecomelargeandlumpy.

Bestrong-willednow.Pickthemandthrowthemaway

(if ignored,theplantwillputitsenergiesinto developing

seedandstopproducingmorebeans).

Pickbeanseverytwodays.It is alltoo easy for them to

grow too big and become ‘stringy’.

5

runner bean varieties

without all-red flowers

Salmon-pink:‘Celebration’

Pink and red: ‘Hestia’

Red and white: ‘Painted Lady’

Whythe ’re

differen

Prolific runnerbeans

Waterwellandpickimmaturepodsfora juicysummer staple

This

week

it’s:

All

photography

Alamy

/TI

Media,

unless

otherwise

credited

RUNNERbeansarecroppingwellnow.

I reckontheyarea Marmitevegetable–

youeitherlovethemorloathethem.My

mucholdersisterlovesthem,butI don’t.

I thinkthatasa childI wasgivenstringy,

tasteless,toughbeansandtold(askids

werein thosedays)nottoleavethe

tableuntilI’dfinishedthem.Mysister’s

experience is different: she buys them

whenshecan’tpickherown.Andshe

is notalone,asmillionsof peoplegrow

runnerbeansfortheyrepresentgreat

valueformoneyandkeeponcropping,

in additiontobeinganexcellentveg

dish.Let’slookat somefactsaboutthem.

Mostrunnerbeanplantshavevibrant

redflowers– whichareedible, offering

a fresh, light bean flavour.

T&M

Runner beans represent great value

EFOREtheyarecooked,manyolde

unnerbeanvarietiesneedtobe

tringedbyremovingthelongrind

longthesidesof thebean.Mostly

hestringswillneedtoberemoved

witha potatopeelerora kitchen

nife.Newervarietieshavebeen

redtobestringless.Totestthe

eansforstringiness,snapthelittle

ointytailat thebaseof thepod.If it

napscleanlyandseparatescleanly

thebean,it won’tbestringy.

Stringinesscanbemadeworsebyunderwatering.Runner

beansandceleryarethetwothirstiestvegetablecrops,and

it reallyis difficulttooverwaterthem.If yourbeanplantsare

allowedtogetdry, the bean pods will be tougher and often

much stringier.

Johnsons

Runner

beanstwine

clockwise

aroundtheir

supports,

unlikemost

peasandbea

whichtwinea

clockwise.Takecarewhenassisting

stemsontotheir supports as they can

snapeasily.

Runnerbeansareuniquein thatthey

formtheirseedleaves(cotyledons)in

thesoilratherthanaboveground.

Runnerbeansareperennials,and

youcankeepthemgoingfora second

yearin a mildwinter.Letthemdieback

naturally,andcoverwitha thicklayer

of mulch.Ordigthemupandstore

themsomewheresheltered,in a large

pot.Thesecondyearis oftenless

productive,butyouwillgeta crop

long before any spring-sown plants.

Size is important The string section

White: ‘White Lady’

Pink and red: ‘St George’

Johnsons

Picksmooth,flatpodsfor

the freshest taste

Lefttoolong,large,

lumpybeansbecome

tough and stringy

T&M