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Heirloom Beans
Odis
Posts: 6
in Fruit & veg
I'm looking into growing heirloom beans and there's just so many to choose but I think it would help to hear others opinions and favorites. I'd like to grow 2 maybe 3 different varieties and I've already settled for Good Mother Stallard as one but It takes 80+ days before harvest and I'd like to have something sooner. Any suggestions?
I was thinking a runner or cow-peas might be nice too...hmm....decisions...
0
Posts
I had a very good crop of Buerre de Rocquencourt this year - they're an heirloom yellow bush wax bean. I grew them to get a crop of beans between the overwintered broad beans and the runner beans which we can't plant out until after the last frost which is usually at the end of May here.
The Buerre de R are happy to germinate in cooler temperatures and get going really quickly so I direct sowed them into the veg patch at the end of April.
Because of our late frosts we need runner beans with a short growing season - I grew White Emergo for the first time this year and was pleased with them - but they're not an Heirloom variety.
If I can find the room this year I may grow some borlotti beans this year - probably Lingua di fuoco which I've grown before - but these will have to be started off indoors in order to have a long enough growing season.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
What makes a plant heirloom please?
I had great crops of a native american indian climbing bean (we usually call these pole beans or climbing french beans in the UK) called 'Cherokee Trail of Tears' last year. I'm sure you can find something similar over there.
Hi Dove. Where would I get seeds of Buerre de R? Are they Suttons, Thompson and Morgan etc?
Hi Barbara - I found a supplier on Ebay last year but I can't find any there now - I saved some seed and have more than I need - if you'd like to PM me your address I can put some in the post for you.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.