Beans - Unusual

Type: Vegetable

Rotation Group: 3, Legumes


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BORLOTTO

An Italian variety whose green pods are liberally splashed with red, used as a conventional dwarf bean when young and tender or left to mature as 'haricots'.
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SPAGNA BIANCO

Widely grown around the Mediterranean, where it is often made into soup. Before they mature into large white beans, they can be eaten fresh as green beans. A most versatile variety.
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EDAMAME SUMMER SHELL

Edamame are the immature pods of soya beans, traditionally eaten whole in Asian cuisine - particularly in Japan where the boiled pods are served as a snack, sprinkled with rock salt and enjoyed with a cold beer! They are packed with protein, essential amino acids, calcium and vitamins. Easy to grow, reaching 60cm/2ft in height they don't require support and each pod will yield 3 seeds on average. DO NOT eat RAW beans or pods.
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SOYA FISKBY V

An ideal selection for the cooler British climate with good vigour for a shorter growing season. Beans can remain on the plant until required or any surplus can be shelled and stored in an airtight container. The beans have an outstanding fresh flavour which pairs well with Japanese cooking.

Site, Soil and Preparation

Beans prefer a warm, sheltered, rich, well drained soil that has been prepared in advance in autumn with generous amounts of garden compost or manure. They also need a neutral pH soil and will require the addition of lime if the soil is acidic.

Indoor Sowing

Beans can be sown direct outside in warm weather, but are usually started indoors in root trainers or 75mm (3in) pots at a depth of 50mm (2in).

Outdoor Sowing

In warm weather beans can be sown outdoors, usually from mid-May, with 2 beans together at a depth of 50mm (2in), 200mm (8in) apart with rows 450mm (1 1/2ft) apart.

Thinning

Thinning of bean plants should not be needed if planted at the correct spacings.

Transplanting

Transplant indoor sown beans to their outdoor positions, after hardening off, in late May or early June and plant at the same spacings as given for outdoor sowing.

Care

Wigwams or rows of 2400mm (8ft) canes will be needed to support beans. Pinch out the tops of the plants when they reach the top of the canes. Water plants frequently, especially during hot spells, and more generously when pods start to form.

Harvest

Harvesting of the pods and beans should be according to the variety.