Vocal Voices

I love Runner Beans but i am never successful at growing them
With neighbours like mine i don`t need to.
One neighbour gave me a lot early this morning.
Another neighbour called with some and now a third one has
just brought me some more
I am now overrun with runners

lissie

I love runner beans.

One year I planted 60 runner bean plants out in the allotment. Yes, you read that right - 60 PLANTS!!

We ate runner beans with every dinner for six months until we got to the end of them. We were sick of the sight of them. Now I only plant around 20 plants. Although this year they have produced nothing so far!

We used to have that problem with runners down in Somerset - very much all or nothing! We used to grow about 20 plants as well, using cane wigwams; some years we were absolutely inundated, and as everyone else around us was growing them as well, you literally couldn't give 'em away .... I seem to recall runner bean chutney / pickle?

60 plants - or even 20 for that matter

I've only planted 10 and one lot is overrun with aphids so I'm having to chuck the whole lot. But the other plants are giving a perfect amount.

A friends mom (italian) said they they eat them by frying some garlic in a pan, chucking in the beans cut into smaller pieces and then towards the end adding some cherry tomatoes or whatever tomatoes they have in their garden... then season to taste and hey presto; done. and yummy it was

That's a popular dish over here too Ria.

Olive oil, garlic, green beans, tomatoes, chives, some pine nuts and a squish of lemon juice: so simple but delicious.

That is almost exactly how the French used to cook them when we were camping - large knob of butter, sliced garlic, runners cut to about 5cm, all fried gently then add a glug of white wine and reduce then throw in sliced tomatoes and season to finish off.

Yum.

Before I moved here I would just simply boil green beans and serve them with a Sunday roast.

Since moving here I've never cooked them like that again.

Yum, I love green beans