Sunday 9 September 2012

An old has-bean

I think it is nearly the end of the line for my three "Speedy" French bean plants. Sown on 31st March, they have produced a decent amount of beans, but are looking very tired now:


The leaves are tatty, slug-eaten and beginning to turn yellow.


But despite this, the plants are still producing new flowers and pods:




The weather has turned a lot cooler these last few days, so the beans will probably stop growing, but until they do, I'll just keep on enjoying their bounty.


French beans are very versatile, and can be included in a vast range of dishes, so it is always nice to have a few in the fridge available for instant access.

This type is "Amethyst". My granddaughter Lara was very intrigued by them. She told me in great detail how she and her Mum had cooked the ones I gave them, especially how they changed colour to plain green when they were boiled.

French Bean "Amethyst"
French beans are an ideal plant for the beginner (maybe a young child) to grow. They are easy to grow and you can get a good yield from a small space in a short time.

9 comments:

  1. What a super tomato harvest in your last post; they did really well especially with the blight. The beans of purple, green and yellow look so colourful together. I enjoy eating Purple Queen, but my Scarlet Emperor and Cobra haven't produced very well.

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  2. How I wish the purple beans would not turn to green when cooked though I can see how a child would like it.

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  3. Spring arrived here yesterday Mark...so inspiration arrived with it.
    I think it's wonderful how your gardening knowledge and skills will pass onto your granddaughter...she's obviously hooked already ;D

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  4. Your beans look positively healthy compared to mine. They are so tired. I do have some fall beans that are OK, but the June planted ones are dying. Rust is rampant here and my beans get it every year.

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  5. I'm still hoping that my late sowing of both French and runner beans will start producing soon. It will be the only bean harvest I've managed this year, yet I've never had problems with beans before. Just goes to show the kind of year we've had.

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  6. A lovely combination of colours. Our first sowings of dwarf French beans were reduced to scraps by the slugs, the second are only just starting to show fruit! At least our runners have been full steam for a couple of months now, and we're filling the freezer up with those!

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  7. Love the purple beans - I snuck in a few and have had them in salads and such -they are pretty , and like Becky - wished they held their color!

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  8. So refreshing to see the 'state' of your bean plant, even if it has bean ;) very productive. Normally when reading blogs, yours among them, I just see the success pictures, like no.4 and wonder how on earth everyone does it! Very comforting. :)

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  9. Love the colour fo those beans. We have been harvestin 'amethyst' for about a month now and they are delicious and look great when raw. It is a shame they change colour when cooking.

    We have some of the yellow ones beginning to form.

    Your produce looks great as always!!

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