I thought I would share a picture of my "Sadie's Horse Beans".
It's been a very cool beginning to our summer, and we have had lots of rain, so that may account for how well they are doing in my garden.
Truely a beautiful vine with lots of scarlet flowers and some solid white and two-toned blossoms too. It's starting to get loaded with lots of pods.
I can't find any information on if it is tasty as a snap bean or not. I'll let you know after I get enough for a taste test.
Hmmm....are the two-toned flowers on the same plants as the scarlett flowers, or different plants? Just curious.
Not sure .... too late to look tonight. I'll check that out tomorrow.
Horseshoe,
Hard to say 100% because of all the twining, but I'd say that there is only one color of blossoms on each vine. Most of the flowers are scarlet, but there are a few two-toned and a few white.
The seeds all looked different when I got them.
I am going to mark some of the blossoms to see if the seed from the different colors are different from each other, and also if when I plant a seed from the white flowers if I get white flowers again.
Not one of the more important issues of our day, but I'm curious.
Hehehe....I agree, but would be fun to figger it out (just in case someone else asks you that question)!
Hope you check back in and keep us posted. And let us know also how tasty they are!
Are these the same beans you thought you'd lost on your earlier post? Just curious. :o)
Big_Red,
Well ........... I should update that post too, I'll have to look for it. I thought I had found all of my post about this bean ... I guess I was wrong.
A few of the plants are some that I thought were toast. Believe it or not on a few that got burnt up in the greenhouse, some new growth came up from the root. Only about 3 I think.
I also reordered some seed ............. I'm so glad I did, as these are turning out to be one of my favorites for "looks" anyways.
I'll update this on taste soon I hope.
I have never had enough beans at the same time to make a good taste test for snap beans. I did try one raw when it was small, and liked the taste. The pods quickly get beyond a size that could be considered usable as a snap. When I grow a larger quantity next year I'll see if I can't boil up a pot for a good test.
I picked about a dozen pods today that had dried on the vine. All of the seeds looked the same, not the variety of colors that I got in my purchased packet. They are nice large seeds of black and purple.
I still have lots of pods that are not dry yet ......... I probably won't eat any this year, but save them all for seed.
This is really my first year for a dry bean .......... if you want to use them for cooking, do you still wait until the pod is dry on the vine, or can you pick them at any stage and just let them dry.
Another question I intended to ask ...............
How long should I let these air dry if my intended use is for seed?
Here's another picture that shows the size of the bean better.
Tree_Climber, just got back to this thread. These should dry until they're 'brittle', you can't get them too dry.
Where did you get your seed? I think they'd make a good shell bean with their large size, I'd like to try some next year.
Thanks Big Red.
I do let them dry on the vine until the shell is brittle. I was wondering if I should continue to let them dry after they are shelled. That is what I am doing for now .... I wouldn't want them to mold.
I got my seed from Baker Creek. . Not sure I'll have a lot of seed this year but enough to share with a few people if you'd like some.
Thanks Tree-Climber, I'd love some. :o)
Big Red,
Email me so I can contact you about the Horse Bean.
Those look very similar to "Scarlet Runner" beans (Phaseolus coccineus). Even the seeds look very similar. Did you try steaming them? I planted 15 seeds and ate beans all summer long, but I had to be sure and pick them before they got too big or they got too fibrous. The flowers taste good too--taste like peas and are great in salads.
emilyrasmus,
I'm not clear on weather you grew Scarlet Runner or Sadie's Horse Bean.
I didn't eat any of the Sadie's this year, just grew it to get a supply of seeds. I will try them next year.
