It was an atrocious year for drying beans* in Edinburgh this year. It just wasn't warm enough and it was too wet. The slugs had a field day. Then the autumn winds flattened any dwarf beans that weren't staked. (The ony thing they avoided was being struck by lightening)
So when it dawned on me (in October) that, despite the lack of a bumper bean crop, summer was definitely over. I gathered whatever I could and put them on racks in the shed to dry. Then I rather forgot about them... until today when I needed a few beans for soup (ribollita). I didn't have that much hope of finding anything useable within.
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| Bean pods |
Despite having been jumbled together the different colours reveal the state of play: The Canadian Wonder (red) and the Malagrowther reversion (mottled white) did at least produce something. The four Borlotti beans have been thrown in with the Malagrowthers. I am concluding that Italian seeds need an Italian climate.
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| Shelled beans |
....except that the Cavolo Nero does very well in Scotland too!
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| Last of the Cavolo Nero |
*The runners beas did well.
