Grow Your Own Protein - Scarlet Runner Beans

by Chris Burns

Just like snow flakes, you'll never find two that look exactly alike,  attesting to Nature's infinite variety of expression!

Have you ever seen these beautiful beans for sale at any market?  Would you even know what they were if I didn't tell you?  Don't they look like some kind of 'Magic Bean' that Jack of 'The Beanstalk' fame might have planted?  If you haven't guessed by now, I'll tell you. They're Scarlet Runner Beans and they're called that for two good reasons.  One, they have the most intensely scarlet red flowers, and Two, they 'run' up any pole, tree, fence or trellis that happens to be close to where they are growing.  If you've never grown them then maybe it's time to consider giving them a place in your garden.

I've grown them many times before, but up until recently I always considered them to be strictly 'ornamental'.  Don't know why!  Perhaps it's because they were described that way in the catalog from which I ordered my first seeds.  As you can see in the pictures posted with this article, they add exquisite beauty to any garden patch. It wasn't until 2011 that I sampled them as cooked, dried beans and discovered their beauty is only rivaled by their delicious flavor!

Scarlet Runners vining up the bamboo trellis. We grew a 70-foot row last year and are doubling it in the 2013 season.

These beauties grow steadily to a dramatic height of 10-12 feet (or more) and need a sturdy trellis of some sort to support the weight of their generous profusion of bean pods (we used bamboo poles tied to a wire pulled taught between t-posts). For those who enjoy attracting pollinators to your garden, you'll likely find (as we did) that the flowers regularly attract hummingbirds and many beneficial insects. (If you have cats, best not to grow the runners as we've heard sad tales of hummingbirds being caught and killed by those furry, domestic predators).

Bean-trellis made with bamboo poles wired to a cable.

Scarlet Runner Beans will grow in a greenhouse too. Just be sure to leave enough vents open to allow pollinators to come and go.

Plant beans 4"-6" apart and 1"- deep. Soil can be course and should stay moist but not too wet as seeds germinate. Often we will pre-sprout the seeds by keeping them between wet towels for several days till they germinate. Be very careful when planting as the sprouts are fragile.

The pods are deliciously sweet when they are young and tender (about 3-4 inches long).  So sweet, in fact that it was the first thing our two teen-age garden-helpers would seek out and munch on whenever they came to the gardens.

Bean pod-loving teens!

If it's mainly green beans that you're looking for though, it's probably best to grow another variety like 'Blue Lake' or 'Contender' which provide you with more of a volume at each picking.  These Scarlet Runners tend to produce pods steadily over a longer season but they become tough and stringy if they aren't picked on the small side.  The reason they probably aren't grown commercially for dried beans is that they must be hand-picked. At the Sharing Gardens we've turned this limitation into an asset as the weekly bean-picking was a task that folks with back and knee-issues could accomplish easily standing up. After a few days laid out on screens in the greenhouse the husks were dry enough to split open easily by hand. This was a task that many volunteers (share-givers), who weren't able to do more strenuous tasks, found fun and relaxing; it also provided an opportunity to sit in the shade and chat with new found friends.

Pods, any bigger than this and they're too tough to eat green.

If it's dried beans you want, don't pick the pods until they are evenly tan and dry. If picked too green, beans won't store well, nor will they be viable for planting next year's crop. Once the frost hits, beans will no longer ripen much more. Pull up the whole vine and let the beans finish ripening in a green-house or warm, dry place before picking them off the vines. When they are as dry as they're going to get, shell these partially ripe beans and use them first as they won't store as well as fully cured beans.

These beautiful beans are rather large --about the size of a fat Lima bean-- and therefore yield enough to make a pot of soup-beans in a short time. If you're serious about growing your own protein-source, Scarlet Runners make an excellent choice.

Harvest beans once their pods are tan and dry. OSU-students shelling Scarlet Runner Beans.

Shelling beans from their pods is a fun activity for all! Jim and Adri shelling kidney beans.

But the best kept secret of all is just how delicious the dried beans are. They have a mild flavor and, unlike Fava beans, their skin is thin (not even noticeable) and they have a velvety texture.

A bamboo tipi provides a trellis for beans and beautifully frames our garden helpers.

Recipe: To cook these beans for eating, soak them over night just like you would any other, with about 1/3 beans to 2/3 water in a stainless or cast iron pot.  Pour off the water the next day; rinse the beans with fresh water and put them back in the pot. Add fresh water until the level is about 2-3 inches over the beans.  Don't add any salt because it won't allow the beans to absorb the water as they cook and they'll never soften.  I like to cook them on the woodstove in the winter.   These beans stay very firm when they're finished cooking but can be easily mashed and used as refries, or made into a hearty chile with tomatoes, onions, peppers and Mexican spices.  I cook up a large pot at a time and, once rinsed and cooled, I pack them into smaller zip-lock bags which I stack in the freezer to add to stir-fried kale and leeks with potatoes all winter long. Instant dinner!

Be creative! Sometimes just a plain ole' bowl of beans with olive oil, soy sauce, finely chopped onions and grated cheese is all you need to get you in the mood to go outside and brave the winter elements.

Such beauty!

Anyway, if you want to enjoy these wonderful and versatile garden gems, the time to plant is coming up soon! (late May or first week of June in our region)  If any of our local readers need seed  please let us know and we'll get you started, and you can save your own for next year.  Happy Gardening!

 

Update June 2022: Since originally writing this post, we've discovered another bean we love that's also in the "runner" family: Giant Greek White Beans. They have a white flower and produce a white bean that's even larger than the Scarlet runners. Though each bean is typically larger, the plants themselves don't seem to be quite as productive. We didn't realize the varieties would cross so now, sometimes when we plant a purple, Scarlet runner seed, it produces white flowers and beans!

This tipi is covered in Giant Greek White beans.

Here's a post on How to build a Bean Tipi/Teepee.

Valentines Day - Time for Pea Planting!

Garden tips for Peas: In our region (Zone 8b - Last frost-date zone map - USA), its ideal to plant peas around Valentine's Day. This gives them the best head start for blooming in time for the longest possible harvest season. The problem is that, here in Alpine/Monroe, Oregon, the soil is often very wet and cold this time of year and, even if you get a good start sowing seeds directly in the soil, the March and April rains can significantly retard their growth, the seedlings can rot off at soil-level, or slugs can decimate your starts.

If you have outdoor raised beds, direct sowing shouldn't be an issue but if, like us, you don't have that luxury, what follows is a method we've used successfully for several years to deal with these challenges. 

By starting seeds in pots and later transplanting them it will increase your chances of an early, abundant edible-pod pea harvest. 

For this method you will need a greenhouse (or indoor seed-germination set-up), and live in a similar climate as the Sharing Gardens (we're in zone 8b, according to the this zone map of typical first and last frost dates). You can start your seeds in pots much earlier than you would be able to direct sow them outside. Depending on when you start the seeds, they can be transplanted into a greenhouse for earliest pea-production, or later, to beds outside.

 

Peas, started in pots.

For plants that will be grown to maturity in our greenhouses, we start our seeds as early as the first week of January. These are then transplanted to greenhouse raised beds by mid-February. Seeds started in pots in mid-February can be transplanted to outside beds in March. 

 

By starting our first batch of seeds at the new year, we can be eating peas by late March and on into April - at which point the peas we plant outside the greenhouse will begin producing and carry us through May or June!

You'll need:

• Seeds: Our favorite varieties are: Sugar Snaps - delicious pods/shorter trellis - 6' or Melting Sugar - need a tall trellis - 8' - very prolific but not as sweet.
  
• Soil
• 4" pots (4-6" deep) - the deeper pots give more time before plants become root-bound. You'll need one pot per two seeds. Plants will be transplanted at a spacing of 6"-8".
  

Fill pots to within a half-inch of the top. Water the soil to help it settle.

Poke two seeds, in opposite corners, about the depth of one knuckle (3/4" or so). That's two seeds per pot. This gives each plant enough soil to germinate and grow to several inches in height before you transplant. Cover the seeds with soil (about the depth of two seeds-deep) so they're not exposed to sun. Water them gently. Do not over-water. Seedlings can rot if soil is too damp.

Plant two seeds in opposite corners.Note: Since having first written this article, we have now shifted to planting two seeds per pot but do not have photos to reflect this.

Keep the potted seeds protected from marauding slugs by putting them up on a table, or putting a milk-carton collar around them. (Link to post on Re-Purposing Things - including milk-cartons as collars). 

 

If you're planting in January, you'll need a greenhouse, or indoor germination set-up to protect them and keep soil in pots warm enough for germination. If you wait until mid-February, pots can be outside in a sunny place, protected from north winds. Temporarily bring them inside if faced with a severe freeze.

Pea seedlings in pots. Pea leaves and tendrils are edible and delicious in salads.

When they are at least 6", and no longer than 12", you can put them in your garden, or greenhouse beds. Best to wait until their root-systems are quite dense in the pots -- almost "root-bound". They will be easier to transplant without damaging the plants. On the other-hand, if you wait until the stems are too long, you risk breaking stems during transplanting so it's a matter of finding the right balance.

 

These peas are ready to be transplanted! In fact they're almost too well developed! Tendrils from neighboring plants are starting to entwine. Pea plants are very fragile and you must be careful not to break the stems.

Transplanting: Plant each 4" pot (with its two seedlings) about 8"- 10" apart with thin bamboo stakes or other climbing trellis in between each clump of starts. (Note: peas need a trellis with stakes or caging that is less than 1/2" (1 cm) in diameter. They climb using tendrils (instead of wrapping around the trellis - like beans) and won't be able to grab and climb if your trellis/caging uprights are too thick.)  

 

Pea-plants are not typically transplanted but sowed directly in place. They are very susceptible to shock so be gentle with the roots and stems. Best to have your trellis in place before you transplant so you don't injure roots driving in the stakes.  

 

If slugs are a big issue in your area, planting them in milk-carton collars can make a big difference. We also typically sprinkle about a teaspoon of iron-phosphate ("Sluggo") around each bunch of plants. This is an organically-approved way of dealing with slug/snail infestations in your garden. (LINK to article about iron phosphate).

The plants might go through a little stress from transplanting but once they acclimatize to their new environment they'll be well along the way to yielding a bounteous and long-term harvest!

Good idea to have trellis in place before you transplant peas (so you're less likely to damage roots). The plants will go through a little stress from transplanting but once they acclimatize to their new environment they'll be well along the way to yielding a bounteous and long-term harvest!

 

John and Llyn transplanting pea-seedlings outside in early to mid-spring. It's a good idea to have your trellis in place before you transplant peas (so you're less likely to damage roots).

Sara picking peas in the greenhouse in April. Note: peas need a trellis with stakes or caging that is less than 1/2" (1 cm) in diameter. They climb using tendrils (instead of wrapping around the trellis - like beans) and won't be able to grab and climb if your trellis/caging uprights are too thick.

Pea-vines headed for the compost pile. Peas, being legumes are able to add nitrogen to your soil through a symbiotic relationship with organisms that grow on their roots. This will help improve your soil, particularly if you leave the roots in the ground when you cut down the "greens" to add to your compost pile. (Link: Saving pea seeds - a low tech method to prevent 'pea weevil' damage)

Growing food together, grows community too!

Other relevant posts for early-spring gardening:

Can I Speed Up Potato Sprouting?

Do I Need to Buy Seed Potatoes or Can I Just Grow Potatoes from the Grocery Store?

Sprouting potatoes? What to do.

Onions - Growing From Seed

A Love Like That! Historic ice storm, Pics from the Garden and Tips for Early Spring Planting

A Love Like That! 

 

Even after all this time

the sun never says to the earth,

"You owe me."

Look what happens 

with a love like that,

it lights up the whole sky.

 

-Hafiz (a Persian poet of the 1300's)

Hello friends of the Sharing Gardens - Well, after only a minor set-back from an historic double ice-storm here in the Pacific NW, we're back on track with significant plantings of early spring crops. Here's news of the storm, pictures from the garden and links to relevant posts for this time of year. Enjoy! And happy gardening!

In mid-January, southwest Washington and northwest Oregon were hit with two back to back ice-storms and several days that didn't get above freezing, with night-time lows in the teens. Heavy, steady, freezing rain just became 2" of sheet-ice in our area. Thousands of trees and branches came down, severing power lines all over the region. We were very fortunate in that we personally only lost power long enough to prompt us to try out our new hand-operated coffee grinder (slow but perfectly adequate). We heat exclusively with wood so our house stayed nice and toasty. Thousands of households lost power for days and in some cases for over a week! 

We heat exclusively with wood and insulated the whole 1875 farmhouse when we did renovations in 2014 so we stayed plenty warm. We often cook on it too.

The wildlife really suffered. We went through over three gallons of birdseed in four days (three times our usual amount) and had to use ski poles to venture out to where we feed them so we didn't slip and fall. Many types of birds that we don't usually see at our feeders showed up including varied thrushes, quail, red winged black birds and more. 

People in our area who didn't have crampons or ski-poles made make-shift traction devices by wrapping small-link chains around their boots and attaching them with twist-ties! One friend had to venture across the frozen nightmare several times a day to feed wild mallards and geese that overwinter at her pond. Another friend tried to help the deer by spreading out apples for them but the deer were having a heck of a time moving across the ice. There was no crust to break through and gain traction...just solid ice all the way to the ground.

Birds during the ice-storm. At one point I counted over 80 before they took flight and I lost count.

This view includes a big apple tree in the middle, flanked by hazelnut trees and a lilac on the right. None of our fruit or nut trees were damaged in the storms.

Thank goodness for our greenhouses! We already had carrots started in two raised beds - which did fine through the cold. We also had also just planted two-dozen potatoes, 6" underground and under a thick cover of dry leaves. These appear to be doing fine. Their greens are just beginning to emerge from the leaves.

A beautiful sunrise following the worst of the ice storms; ground is still very icy. The greenhouse on the left is called the Sunship and the one on the right is the Ark. Chris had to knock ice off both greenhouses to be sure they didn't collapse under the weight.

Chris had already started several varieties of seeds in tofu-containers. We brought them in the house during the worst of the freeze.

We often start our seeds in tofu-containers with holes drilled in the bottom. The soil in our raised beds is perfect for just scooping into the containers for starting seeds (though sometimes we sift it for really small seeds).

Seedlings (foreground/left) we brought inside during the worst of the storms and until things were consistently warm enough to return them to the greenhouse.

All the seeds that we started before the storm have now been transplanted into bigger pots. They're suffering a little bit from lack of sunlight and are a little spindly. Even though temps rose, it's been a very overcast and drizzly/rainy winter (typical for an El Nino season). Starting seeds in January was pushing things a bit for our area but even if this first batch doesn't do so well, the later batches we've started should do fine. Starting seeds early is always a gamble but it's worth it if you have enough seeds to spare. Starting Seedlings Directly in Greenhouse Raised Beds 

Here are many of the seedlings that have been "potted up". Cabbages and kale: six per tofu container...Lettuces do really well in egg cartons (bottom/right). The roots grow right through the cartons and each seedling can just be torn off the dozen and planted directly in the soil, egg-carton and all!

Prior to the ice storm, we still managed to host a few volunteer sessions inside the greenhouses. Here, Donn and Chris are hand-digging in bags of compost (harvested from our greenhouse paths - LINK). Chris rebuilt all the GH raised beds this winter with 2x6 lumber (much of which was salvaged). The black, plastic bags on the other beds keep moisture in the soil, keep the soil temperature warmer (for microbial action) and prevent damage from UV rays. These bags will be re-used over and over again.

Suzanne, removing greens from carrots harvested from outside beds in January.

Chris planted a long bed of carrots and beets in an outside bed in Sept. It was a bit of a gamble, starting them so late but they did beautifully. We harvested 54 pounds of delicious, sweet carrots! So tender and yummy and full of minerals. We collect plastic containers with fitting lids from our community and re-purpose them for storing our harvests. (Here the carrots are in containers for salad greens).

The beets weren't quite as productive but we still got 17 pounds. They too were very sweet and tender.

With February upon us, garden tasks will shift to pruning, turning compost piles, repairs and maintenance on buildings and equipment, along with transplanting seedlings and other tasks. If you're local and thinking you'd like to join us for the coming season, here's info about our share-giver (volunteer) program: (LINK: Volunteering and Garden Location ).

Here are timely LINKS for your own early-spring planting:

Valentines Day - Time for Pea Planting! 

Sprouting potatoes? What to do.  

Can I Speed Up Potato Sprouting?  

Do I Need to Buy Seed Potatoes or Can I Just Grow Potatoes from the Grocery Store?  

Onions - Growing From Seed - deep pots  

Onions - Growing from Seed - Using heat mats and shallow pots  

And remember...If you plant it, they will come!

Still Going Strong!

A great year for blackberries! Yumm!

I'm writing on a beautiful, crisp autumn day. Gentle  rains began to fall last week breaking the long stretch of hot, dry weather. Lush summer greens are shifting into muted browns, golds and russet-colors signaling the end of another fertile garden season.

Despite the devastating setback of herbicide contamination to our potting soil mix (LINK and LINK), the gardens rebounded amazingly. Harvests have been averaging over 400 pounds/week since early August and, with the majority of our winter-squash still to go, and quite a few tomatoes still ripening, this average should extend through much of October.

Tomatoes thriving after initial set-back. A new variety: Amish Rose. Thanks to Steve Rose for his tomato-plant donations.

Cabbage was not affected by the herbicide and we grew a record amount! Chris, "going up for a shot!".

Our relationships with people and agencies continue to grow throughout our small town of Monroe (population 680). The main recipient of the garden's surplus produce (after feeding the coordinators, volunteers and other local donors) continues to be the South Benton Food Pantry (LINK). We are so grateful for our growing partnership with SBFP -- they have given us three, $500 grants and covered the cost of a supplemental refrigerator to handle the overflow of summer harvests. The director, Janeece Cook has also been refreshingly open to suggestions of increasing the number of whole, unprocessed foods offered by the Pantry.

Llyn with part of a week's harvest delivered to S. Benton Food Pantry.

We have also shared weekly harvests with students in a class offered by our local, award-winning Health Clinic (LINK) who are pioneering a "Food as Medicine" program promoting a Plant-Based diet to address the epidemics of diabetes, hypertension and obesity that effect both rural and urban communities alike.

Garlic- food as "medicine!

Adri-11 months - 2012.

Other occasional recipients of our produce have been Junction City's Local Aid, the Monroe Gleaners, the Senior Lunch Program of Monroe and Muddy Creek charter school where one of our younger garden members, Adri, - just started kindergarten (she's been coming to the gardens since she was first born!).

Adri and Bella - best garden buddies - 2017.

Bella and Adri digging up potatoes. When kids help grow and harvest their own food, they're more likely to eat it!

Our relationship with Oregon State University continues to thrive and deepen. On average we're bringing two groups of six-students each to the gardens for four-hours per term of "service-learning" (volunteer-work in the community). These visits  are a highlight of each season as it is refreshing to see the students' slow turning towards greater ecological consciousness coupled with a willingness to put these ideals into action. The students also get a huge amount of work done!

Christy and Chelsea - planting garlic - Sept. 2017.

Visiting OSU class on Sustainability - the "V" sign means: "Live long and volunteer often!" This class actually brought posters they'd made, mapping out our valley's local food-system.

Lucas and Savannah - OSU giving final presentation about the Ecological sustainability of our local food system. Other groups explored the Economic, and Social aspects of Sustainability

OSU students spreading wheat-straw as mulch.

Llyn and Haley sifting compost. Scarlet runner bean blossoms in foreground.

Shawn (r) was a service-learning student in 2016 and returned this summer (with sister Sheila) to continue to learn about gardening. He is always a big help - great thoroughness and attention to detail!

We're excited about a new relationship forming with the Monroe Grade School (kindergarten through 8th grade) that shares our back-fence property line. We've been approached by a 7th grade teacher who is teaching a unit on Sustainability. Students choose from a menu of actions  that help them live more Earth-friendly lives and will also join the Gardens in a morning of "service-learning"--spreading out through the town with rakes and recycled leaf-bags to collect as many leaves as they can to fill our compost bins and help cover our garden-beds for the winter.

Organic gardening requires A LOT of organic material for soil-fertility. Here, OSU students "turn" a compost pile composed of leaves, grass-clippings and garden "waste" (weeds and plants pulled up after harvest).

One, giant  'volunteer' squash plant grew out of our composted manure pile and produced all the squash pictured above! An inedible 'ghost pumpkin'  -- we'll be offering these squash to MGS students as a thank-you for raking leaves.

This year we have had a much smaller core-group of volunteers. This was a conscious decision on our part as we noticed in previous years that by having a weekly group of 4-6 "share-givers" that a) Chris and I often held off on doing certain projects so there'd be enough for them to do; b) 'staging' the projects and keeping everyone engaged on volunteer days was sometimes more tiring than actually doing the projects ourselves and c) with that many people coming at once, we rarely had time to visit with everyone and enjoy the social time that the gardens were meant to provide. We are grateful to everyone who has come volunteer this year but a special thank-you goes out to Jim and Cindy Kitchen - participants since 2010, who have come almost weekly this summer and continue to find ways of showing their support through little treats they squirrel away in our pantry; clothes, tools and housewares they offer to us to use or pass along and a general feeling of including us as members of their extended "family".

"Husky" Grandpa Jim - husking blue corn to be dried and ground. We're finally growing enough corn (and beans)  to share with our volunteers this year (and enough for Chris and I to eat year-round).

Adri and Grandma Cindy in the bean patch.

And finally a hearty welcome to our newest garden-member: Caleb Deweber, born late December 2016, he's finally accompanying his mom, Sabine who is in her third year of helping in the gardens. Welcome Caleb! (Thanks also to Sabine and her family for all the "goodies" they've been stocking up our pantry with - yumm!)

Caleb, already a big fan of tomatoes! "If it doesn't get all over the place, it doesn't belong in your face!"

Gratitude to other volunteers who have helped throughout this season: Eva, Rook, Christina, Shawn, Sheila, Judy-Mom, Uncle Craig, Manfred, Yvonne, Wanda, Becky - we appreciate you!

Sabine's parents - Manfred and Yvonne visited from Germany this year. We look forward to seeing you again next summer!

Christina and Rook weeding the beet-patch. We sure had some interesting discussions, didn't we?

Jim and Llyn - autumn tasks in the greenhouse. Llyn is setting out sunflower heads to dry for winter bird-seed.

A great year for artichokes - here is an artichoke left to go to seed. "...mmm, so fragrant! The bees love 'em!"