Borlotti beans: when to pick and how to dry?

[sheridand]

My borlotti beans finally got going and it looks like I'll have a bagfull before the frosts. I am growing them for the beans and would like to dry some, but I am unsure how to do this, some people have said just to leave them in the pod and others recommend drying in a shed. Has anyone done this? They do look pretty hanging there, all red and blotchy.

[frozenthunderbolt]

I believe you cut the whole plant and the base then hang up in a shed to start drying then once partly done pick the pods into a sack to finish on the basis that if they get too dry the pods pop open and drop your beans on the floor but if you put the plants in a sack straight away they would have too much moisture and the whole lot would go moldy. Anyone else enlighten us?

[Millymollymandy]

Well as some of my beans eventually went a bit mouldy I'm not an expert so this year I'm just going to freeze the fresh beans and use any dried beans up quickly.

As the beans ripen at different times I remove the pods that are yellowed and dried out, take out the beans and leave them to dry out for a few more weeks. I just had bowls of them in my kitchen for several weeks as I didn't know where else to put them.

Judging when to pick for fresh beans is quite hard - some of the pods that have a nice yellow/red colour were still quite green and immature and some of the pods that look less mature had more mature beans inside..... but they're all nice even if they are still young and green and don't have the pretty colour on the skin.

[Odsox]

I'm picking mine, a few pods every other day, and you can see the colour change in the pods as they go from bright red to a deep maroon shade and the pods feel distinctly leathery. I left some until the pods went brown but some of the beans inside had gone a rather disgusting shade of brown too.
After shelling I lay them out for a few days in the conservatory, or a sunny windowsill would do, until the beans are the size of the ones that came in the seed packet and then store them in a screw top jar. A glass jar is best as they look very pretty, just like a jar full of robin's eggs.
Looking forward to eating some, just as soon as we finish the runner beans.

[Jandra]

Don't forget to freeze the beans for 48 hours before storing them (after drying them out completely). If you've got the eggs of that beanbeetle thingy, you'll end up with lots of wildlife in your container.... been there, done that... Freezing the dried beans kills of any eggs. Make sure the beans are spread out when they get back to room temp and are well dried before storage. You wouldn't want them to get mouldy.

Í've always left the pods on the plants untill the plants look really tatty and the beans start rattling in their pods. I don't think it matters if the pods are looking a bit mouldy. They are designed to keep the beans inside safe and sound and I've never had any disasters. But I can't guarantee it, of course. Anyway, then I take the enitre pods off and leave them spread out on newspapers for a month or so (in the attic) to get really dry. Then I shell them, check if the beans are well-dried and put them in the freezer for 48 hours. I then spread the beans on a cookie baking sheet or dehydrator rack and allow them to come back to room temp, make sure they feel absolutely dry to the touch, and then I store them in a container which closes well.

Good luck,
Jandra

[Odsox]

I don't think it matters if the pods are looking a bit mouldy. They are designed to keep the beans inside safe and sound and I've never had any disasters. But I can't guarantee it, of course.

Living in an area of high humidity, I can tell you that it definitely DOES matter if the pods are mouldy, as the beans inside go mouldy as well. I can't say if mouldy beans are still edible or not but they certainly don't look very appetising as they are the same shade of brown as they are when they exit your body.
As oppose to the sound beans which are a rather pretty red and white.

I didn't think of bean beetles or whatever as I don't get them, so never crossed my mind.

[Jandra]

OK, that sounds yuck.

Did you leave the pods on the stalks to dry out on the land? I've had the occasional 'powdery' beanpod on the outside, but 99% of the beans inside have always been good.

Anyway, that just shows that - though the Netherlands is harly a dry place and I never had problems - mouldy beans are a risk. Good to know.

Jandra

[Millymollymandy]

Even some of mine were mouldy on the outside when the beans were trailing on the ground, so this year I have loads of straw all under the plants where the pods are dangling.

[Millymollymandy]

I'm picking mine, a few pods every other day, and you can see the colour change in the pods as they go from bright red to a deep maroon shade and the pods feel distinctly leathery. I left some until the pods went brown but some of the beans inside had gone a rather disgusting shade of brown too.

I don't get this colour change, maybe it's to do with your humidity? Mine go from greeny speckled red to nice speckled red to yellow speckled red, then straw coloured when they are dried out! Or it could be a different variety come to think of it.

[sheridand]

Mine sound like yours , mine are green speckled at the mo, and getting bigger! This has been really useful, I think I will leave them till they're good and big and then try both methods to see what works best in Fenland! Which is kinda damp.....

[Odsox]

There you go, the easiest way to show what I'm talking about.
They are bog standard Borlotto firetongue but are the climbing variety.

From the left, young beans that I eat sliced like runner beans.
Next is the stage when I shell them for using as flageolets
Third is when I shell them for haricots
And the fourth is when most people shell theirs, but mine go mouldy.

Borlotto.jpg (105.35 KiB) Viewed 23068 times

[Millymollymandy]

Darn I just shelled a load the other day or I could have photographed mine. I don't get that 3rd one, mine go from mottled red to mottled red/yellow, which is when they are ready to pick for ripe beans with the pretty colour inside. I don't want dried ones.

Mine aren't the climbing ones, they just spread out all over the place and trail their pods all over the ground (even when I've tied them to stakes) hence the straw under them. Do you get more from the climbing ones?

[Odsox]

Do you get more from the climbing ones?

No idea, but it keeps them off the ground and out of contact with moisture.
The ordinary French beans that I grow are all climbing ones for the same reason.
I've tried dwarf beans before but they just rot in damp conditions.

[Millymollymandy]

Makes sense!

[Millymollymandy]

I went round the garden taking photos yesterday so here's a couple of my borlottis!

Used the space next to the rasps which had been occupied by strawberries! Not sure if they are yellowing because they are coming to an end (they actually aren't) but more likely because the mice and voles have been tunneling underneath because I have a seep hose there to keep rasps and beans watered, as the soil is extremely dry and rocky and stony in this place. Note how green my grass is, this is after the 33mm of rain which greened up my garden!!!

Raspberries and borlottis.jpg (146.86 KiB) Viewed 23057 times

And here are a couple of ready to pick for fresh beans:

Ripe borlotti beans.jpg (126.19 KiB) Viewed 23057 times

Mine are called 'Borlotto Lingua di fuocco nano' - the nano bit means dwarf I guess, lingua = ? language, tongue? the other word just sounds rude. Though I have a feeling they may be 'firetongue' which Odsox mentioned!!!