A week ago I decided to plant 12 dried red kidney beans just to see what — if anything — would happen. Low and behold, yesterday I noticed that all 12 had germinated! Now I don’t want to sound like a simpleton, I had an idea that some of them would germinate, but I’ll be interested now to see how well they grow in the British climate.
Red kidney beans are something I eat a lot of, so I’m hoping that they do well, but if not then I’ve lost nothing by trying. My only regret is not saving any black turtle beans to plant because they’re my favourite beans of all.
We grow broad beans (Fava beans) and runner beans every year, and have done so for many years. The red kidney beans will be a most welcome addition to this year’s bean clan…
I did some research on growing red kidney beans prior to planting them. What I’ve learnt is that you should stop watering the plants once the bean pods start to dry out. When the pods start to turn yellow, you pull the whole plant up by the root and hang it upside down to dry for a month or so. You should not break open the pods until they are completely dry. Once the pods are completely dry the beans can be collected and stored in a container.
