Runner Beans

Phaseolus coccineus

Sayada
Sayada

Runner beans are one of the easiest vegetables to grow. They need a support to climb up and well-watered soil. Sow indoors late April to May, outdoors May to June. Provide a support for the beans to climb up and sow 2 to 3 seeds at the base of each support. Beans are ready for picking about 3 months after planting. Pick them regularly to encourage the production of beans.

Growing calendar for runner beans
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Debbie Mitchener

Debbie Mitchener. Photo: Sara Heitlinger

About

Seed Guardian, Wilton Estate Community Garden

I grew Greek Giant Beans at the Wilton Estate Community Garden in Hackney. The allotment space is part of the wider community garden that’s on this council estate. I’m the chair of the Tenants and...
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Where the seeds came from
My Greek Giant Bean seeds came from the real seed company and I bought those in 2012. And the seeds that we planted this year are the great grandchildren of those original seeds, so I’ve grown them and saved them every year since I bought them.

Tips
They like it a little bit drier than we’ve been having it, because they are a variety that’s come from Greece, they’re used to slightly drier soil and a bit more sunshine and a bit more warmth. The first year we grew them next to the community hall, which is up against a brick wall. And that wall faces directly south. So they were getting residual heat. And they did extremely well there. Whereas this is much more exposed and there’s a lot of wind around here, and they haven’t got the space to grow. They will go metres up.

Debbie on Greek Giant Beans

Recipe
You don’t eat the beans themselves, you’re after the seeds. They’re a soup bean. They’re originally from Greece, and they’re really lovely seeds, and I’ve used them in stews and soups. They add quite a bit of protein to a vegetable dish. They’ve got a much nicer taste to them than saving your runner beans or your large runner bean seeds.

How to save seeds
Let them dry off in the sun, and then when they are starting to go brown and dry, and then I would pick them off and put them in a cotton bag and hang it in the greenhouse and dry in there, and let them finish off. In October, when it started to get damp in the air, I took them up and they hung on the backdoor of my kitchen.

Nat Mady

Nat Mady. Photo: Sara Heitlinger

About

Seed Guardian, Cordwainers Garden

I’m a part of Cordwainers Garden. This year we’ve dedicated a plot to seed-saving for this project. I grow my own vegetables because I really enjoy growing things, and being able to grow things that...
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Where the seeds came from
Three years ago I went to one of the events of the London Freedom Seed Bank and everyone was encouraged to take some seeds away, and that was the pack that I took.

How to grow
I planted some straight in the ground, and I also sprouted some first, soaking them and waiting for the shoots to come out and then only planting the ones which had germinated. And that worked quite well. And then watered them, gave them a feed a few times through the season. I fed them with a mix of a nettle tea and some compost tea from the. Got quite a good crop of them, not as good as in past years I think because it was so dry. I’ve left most of them to go to seed to collect. They do like quite a lot of water. The more sun they have the healthier the plants will be and the more they’ll produce.

Nat on Runner Beans

Tips
Make sure you build quite a strong structure for them to grow up. They can grow quite tall and become quite heavy. So if they’re in a windy spot they can fall over.

Recipe
I quite like eating them raw. So I chop them up and put them in a salad or just boil them or steam them. They’re really versatile to use.

Sayada Sultana

Sayada Sultana. Photo: Sara Heitlinger

About

Seed Guardian, Selby Estate Gardening Club

This is my third year I’m gardening. In these three years I’ve learnt a lot. In the first year I didn’t know anything about gardening. Actually this is my first time saving seed. Before, every...
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How to grow
First of all plant runner beans inside. Sow them at the end of May. Runner beans grow really fast. So if you grow them too early, they will be very big, but you can’t put them outside because it’s too cold. So it’s better to sow them later. Runner beans like to climb, so they need climbing space. If you put a trellis in they can climb. If they can climb then they will produce more beans. If they can’t, then the crop doesn’t grow properly.

Sayada on Runner Beans

Recipe
When the bean is young you can eat it the whole pod. We cook it with the fish or with chicken. When the bean is older, you can cook the seeds. Soak the bean seeds for two hours, then wash off the outside skin, the black skin. Then cook the bean seed with fish. Or you can eat it with chapati bread or rice.

Anwara Uddin

Anwara Uddin. Photo: Sara Heitlinger

About

Seed Guardian, Selby Estate Gardening Club

My name is Anwara. I’m a housewife. I have two children. I live in a small flat. About four years ago Katherine came from Spitalfields farm and invited us to come and grow some vegetables....
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Where the seeds came from?
Katherine from Spitalfields Farm gave me this bean when I first started gardening, and I saved them each year. This is the fourth year. I love these runner beans, they’re my favourite. They grow quickly and it’s very easy to harvest the seeds.

How to grow it?
I grow it first inside the home. I put it in compost, and after 3-4 days it starts growing. Then, once it’s grown a little, if the weather is good, I plant it in the soil. It gives so many beans. It’s not hard work, it just needs water every couple of days.

Challenges
This year is not a good year. Every year I get a large plant and many beans. But this year has not been good. Ants have attacked this plant, and snails and slugs.

Anwara on Runner Beans

Recipe
I cook it with meat or fish. I fry it with onion, chili, coriander leaf. It’s very nice. I love this. My family, my children love this.

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