"Davy" wrote in message
om...
Like many people I have left the last pods of my runner beans unpicked to
provide seed for next year. But the pods are still very green and lush
and
not drying at all. So I opened one to check the beans - they were
purple -
just like the beans I sowed in the spring.
Out of curiosity I tasted one - it was superb - even raw.
Now I have a question - why are not runner beans grown to produce edible
beans? I know that the very similar red kidney beans are poisonous until
soaked in water for many hours. Is there a problem with runner beans?
thanks, Davy

While weeding the erstwhile runner bean patch today prior to mulching it
with shreddings and letting the hens fertilise and turn it over I found a
large green pod, obviously dropped when we picked our last lot.

I opened it and it had purple beans inside so I put them in with the boiling
potatoes and we ate them with the shin beef stew.

We always eat purple beans which come from missed pods.

And we're still here :-)

Mary