Growing Food - Scarlet Runner Beans (Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

What can I do with scarlet runner beans? ›

The edible flowers have a bean-like flavor and can be used in salads. The green pods are edible until they become fibrous and can be boiled, steamed, sautéed, or baked (but should be eaten raw only sparingly). Because they are tougher than many green beans, they are best sliced before cooking.

Scarlet runner bean seeds do not require any treatment (eg soaking, stratification) before sowing. Scarlet runner bean seeds grow best when they are sown directly into the garden. Sow seeds directly in the garden 25mm deep and 15cm apart, with rows 100cm apart. Keep soil moist but never wet or dry.

Use 1 cup of complete organic fertilizer for every 3m (10′) of row. Too much nitrogen in fertilizer or manure may cause poor pod set and delayed maturity. If beans flower but do not set pods, the cause can be zinc deficiency. Try spraying the plants with kelp based fertilizer.

Immature pods can be harvested before they become fibrous, and then steamed and eaten as you would any green bean. The pods have a rougher surface texture than we're accustomed to. Let the pods grow a bit longer so the light pink seeds plump up inside them. Then shell them, cook, and eat as you would lima beans.

The easiest way to cook runner beans is to bring a pan of water to the boil, then cook the beans in the water for 3-4min (larger, older beans will require longer cooking). Drain the beans and rinse under cold water to stop them over cooking and going mushy.

Huzzah! Dried scarlet runners…. aren't they beautiful? The beans are delicious on their own, topped with some crumbled feta or queso fresco, some fresh cilantro and a spritz of lime.

Runner beans are also high in fiber. Fiber is important because it helps digestion, prevents blood sugar from spiking, and reduces LDL (or “bad” cholesterol). Fiber may also reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes. You'll also find high folate and vitamin C levels in runner beans.

Did you know? Although grown for its seeds and seedpods, runner bean leaves and flowers are also edible.

Putting up supports

The traditional method is to grow them along a double row of bamboo canes, 2.5m (8ft) tall, with 45–60cm (18in–2ft) between the two rows. Space the canes 15–30cm (6–12in) apart within each row and slope them inwards, then tie each pair near the top to a horizontal cane, to form a sturdy A-frame.

Scarlet Runner Bean - Key Growing Information

Harden off and transplant outside after the last frost. Direct seed: After last frost, when the soil temperature is at least 60°F (16°C), sow about 6 seeds per foot, 1" deep. When seedlings have true leaves, thin to 4-8" apart.

Are scarlet runner beans easy to grow? ›

Runner beans are fairly easy to grow, as long as you provide them with plenty of sun and moisture. They also must be protected from frost.

To promote flowering you need to have potassium (potash) fertiliser to help initiate flowering. It sounds like your soil may be rich in nitrogen which will give you the healthy green growth which comes from adding nitrogen rich material such as compost, blood and bone, sheep pellets to the soil.

Once the plant moves into flowering mode, then water well. Feed container grown plants once beans start to form – tomato fertiliser is good as it is high in potash that encourages fruiting.

Care: Support runner beans with stout poles, a trellis, string, or wire. To reduce the danger of disease, water by soaking soil, to keep the foliage dry. Apply plant food 4 weeks after the plants are up.

Although grown for its seeds and seedpods, runner bean leaves and flowers are also edible.

Look for: Scarlet Runner Beans, all seed companies carry them. They'll climb 8+' feet tall, will be covered in a profusion of gorgeous flowers that are edible, then small fuzzy flat pods that are edible. Once the seeds start forming, stop eating until you cook them (see above). The pods get 8-12" long!

Scarlet runner beans can be used when they are young as a fresh shelling bean, or they can be left to dry in their pods on the vine then shelled and used as a dried bean. Whichever form is used mature, shelled beans should first be cooked before consumption.

You can eat them fresh or dried (but never raw as they contain toxins which are broken down only by cooking).