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The best runner beans for a cool climate

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, April 12, 2008
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Q: I have learned the importance of planting the right varieties for successful harvests in the fog zone. I've had good results, especially in regard to flavor with bush beans, primarily the variety 'Provider,' which seems to do well in our cooler soils.

However, even though 'Provider' has a short "days to maturity," only 50 days, it does not produce until late August or early September. It then bears well for only about 10 days to two weeks. (Of course, I plant to spread the harvest out over a month.)

This year I am thinking about banging together a trellis out of scrap 2-by-4s and planting a variety of runner beans. I have the impression runners may produce more beans sooner and longer than the bush variety, but I am skeptical about their relative flavor and stringiness. Can you recommend a variety or two that would compare to my early bush beans in flavor and stringlessness, or is not possible with the runners?

A: First let's get the terminology straight. Your 'Provider' beans are a bush variety of common garden beans, which are the species Phaseolus vulgaris.

The taller varieties of Phaseolus vulgaris, the ones that climb, are usually called "pole beans." Pole beans are typically rated at a week or so longer to maturity, but they do bear over a longer period than bush beans. They should be about the same in flavor or tenderness as bush beans. For an early pole bean, try 'Ura' (60 days), a variety offered by Territorial Seed Co. (www.territorialseed.com, (800) 626-0866).

Besides the usual, round-podded common garden beans like 'Provider,' there are the flat-podded romano-types, available as either bush or pole. They are particularly tender (don't overcook them or they turn to mush).

Try a bush romano such as 'Roma II' (59 days) or a pole romano such as 'Helda' (60 days), both offered by Territorial Seed Co. (Readers: Any other bush or pole common bean variety you especially like? Let us know, and tell us why.)

The beans that are usually called runner beans are a different species, Phaseolus coccineus, which is actually better adapted to cool summers than is Phaseolus vulgaris.

Runner beans, often called "scarlet runner beans" for their bright red flowers, are native to the highlands of Central America, where the cool summer days and nights are much like those of near-coastal California. In fact, runner beans will languish in a hot-summer location.

Among the many charms of scarlet runner beans are those pretty flowers that attract hummingbirds, a long period of productivity (usually mid-August to mid-October) and large pods. The seeds germinate in cooler soil, so you can plant them in April. Also, because runner beans are perennial plants, they often grow back in spring from last year's stems or roots to bear a tad earlier than they would have from seed.

For the best-quality pods, buy a scarlet runner bean variety intended for eating (as opposed to one sold on the flower seed rack). For tender pods, harvest young, before there is any trace of bean inside.

The flavor is sweet and beany. Some like them; some don't. I find them different from - but as tasty as - common beans. After you have eaten your fill of the green pods, leave some runner beans to ripen into large, usually pink and black speckled dry beans for winter soups.

Harvest the brown, dry pods before rains decay the seeds. Wait till late winter to remove dead vines, leaving any that are still flexible, showing that they have survived. These will give you your season's first pods.

Q: Having less available sunshine because of my neighbor's rapidly growing trees, I must try some tomatoes in pots this year. Wine barrels are not the solution for me. I have a few areas that still have sunshine, so I'll put a few pots here and there strategically.

What do you think is the smallest size container one can reasonably use to handle a normal tomato plant? Five-gallon container? Can I get away with smaller? Taking out the plants each year from the huge raised bed where I used to grow tomatoes, I noted that some had rather limited root growth, some rather more substantial.

A: A full-size, tall (indeterminate) tomato plant will grow almost as big as it would in the ground in a 15-gallon container, which is about 18 inches deep. If you use a smaller container, it will simply grow smaller. A short (determinate) plant might reach full size in a container 15 inches deep. For either, I'd use a pot at least 15 inches deep if you can manage it.

There are some small tomato varieties intended for smaller pots. Read descriptions: They may be called "patio tomatoes" or "dwarf plants" or ones "bred for containers." These make small plants and their fruit is usually on the small side, too. Some of them will produce a few tomatoes in even a 6-inch pot.