Fly beans, also known as runner beans or runner beans, can be planted as a vegetable in the vegetable garden and are an absolute eye-catcher in the ornamental garden.
The fire bean (Phaseolus coccineus), also known as runner bean, cotton bean or runner bean, occurs as an ornamental plant, but also as a useful plant in the home garden. The annual plants are eager climbers and need the appropriate support from the hobby gardener. Three to four meters in height are quickly reached on a trellis. The legumes can also be planted as a hedge. The pretty flowers serve as an eye-catcher. The harvest of the delicious fruits begins in midsummer.
Origin of the fire bean
The original home of the decorative fire beans is in the tropical regions of South America. In the 17th century, the plants, also known as runner beans because of their striking flowers, reached Europe by sea. Today, the runner bean is native to all of Europe. In Austria, the cotton bean is also known as the beetle bean. Turkish bean, Arabian bean or flower bean are other common trivial names. There is a botanical relationship to the French bean and pole bean.
Using the Fire Bean
The fire bean can be used in ornamental and kitchen gardens, or create a harmonious transition to both areas. The plants are suitable for greening walls and fences and provide an attractive privacy screen on trellises and pergolas.
After the flowering period, the green legumes ripen. Depending on the variety, these can reach a length of more than 25 centimeters. Use in the kitchen is similar to bush beans or pole beans.
Warning: Fire beans must not be eaten raw. They contain the toxic substance phasin.
Inside the pods are the seeds. These are also edible when cooked.
Plant Fire Bean
➔ Find the right location
The undemanding fire beans arrange themselves with almost every stand. The plants thrive in both sun and partial shade. In mild regions even a biennial culture is possible.
»Tip: beans should be planted in a new location each year. Planting again in the same location is only advisable after at least five years.
The following planting neighbors are particularly suitable or should be avoided if possible.
beneficial plants
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Celery
Savory
unsuitable plants
Leek
Onions
Garlic
Peas
Fennel
Cultivation is also possible on the balcony and terrace. The potted plants require appropriate climbing aids.
➔ Choosing the ideal substrate
Any conventional garden soil is suitable for cultivating the runner bean. The cotton bean has the best growing conditions when the soil is permeable and nutrient-rich with a high proportion of clay.
Cylinder beans can be pre-cultivated or seeded directly.
➔ prefer fire bean
You can start growing the plant at the end of April. To speed up germination, it is advisable to soak the beans in warm water for at least a day before sowing.
- Presoak beans
- Fill the planter with potting soil
- Put the beans in with the navel up
- Fill up soil about two to three centimeters
- Press the earth lightly
- Water the beans lightly
- Place the planter at room temperature
Temperatures around 20 degrees are sufficient. It is important not to keep the beans too moist. After about a week, the first seedlings will appear. If the danger of night frosts has been averted from mid-May, the runner beans can be planted outdoors.
➔ Sow runner beans directly
If you want to bring the seeds directly into the field, you should wait until the temperatures have consistently reached values of around ten degrees. Here, too, it is advisable to let the seeds swell.
First you have to take care of the climbing aids. If a fence or pergola is not available, wooden or metal poles can be set up. Small holes about three centimeters deep are made around the climbing aid. Place four to six beans in these clumps.
About two to three centimeters of soil are filled up. When the young plants have reached a height of about five centimetres, they can be piled up. This allows stronger plants to develop. Due to the oversupply of substrate, side roots are increasingly formed. The absorption of moisture and nutrients can be increasedbecome.
The stalks of the cotton bean can grow up to six meters long. They always wind around the trellis in a left direction. The yellowish or reddish flowers appear between June and September.
Fuel bean care
➔ Water the runner bean properly
The fire bean needs to be watered regularly. Potted plants in particular have a high fluid requirement. Daily watering is important so that the plant does not shed the flowers and develops as desired. When pouring, it depends on a sure instinct. Runner beans do not tolerate waterlogging.
» Tip: Draining potsherds or gravel in the bottom of potted plants can prevent waterlogging.
➔ Fertilize runner bean correctly
The growth of the plants can be promoted by adding compost. A mulch layer of grass cuttings or stinging nettles is also welcome. Further measures are not necessary.
The plants themselves can provide nutrients to the soil. Fire beans are particularly high in nitrogen. If you don't remove the roots after harvesting, you can enrich the substrate with nitrogen and thus create ideal conditions for heavy-duty plants.
➔ Cut runner beans
The runner bean only needs to be cut when it grows particularly luxuriantly. This depends on the variety. If you want to use the runner bean primarily as a privacy screen, you can regularly remove faded flowers. This ensures intensive post-flowering.
➔ Propagate runner bean
Fire Beans are propagated by seed. The seeds should be harvested when the seeds are ripe but the pods are not yet open.
» Tip: The seeds remain viable for several years and can be dried and overwintered.
Harvest Fire Beans
The harvest time for the runner bean extends from August to October. Can be harvested in three stages:
- Green beans - the immature pods are harvested
- Milk maturity - the grains are ripe but not yet hardened
- Grain beans - the ripe beans are harvested
Fire beans are usually harvested from August and during the so-called milk ripening period.
Detect diseases and pests
The fire bean should only be sown when the soil is no longer at risk of frost. Otherwise the kernels remain in the ground for too long and are attacked by field slugs or bean fly maggots. The pests burrow into the kernels and destroy the seedlings.
Who the plantspre-cultivated, need not fear this pest infestation. The young plants, on the other hand, are perfect food for snails.
If the leaves turn yellow or bare, this usually indicates care errors. The runner bean is too dry.
On rainy days, grease spot disease can appear. The bacterial disease manifests itself in the form of oily spots and a yellow edge of the leaf. This can be prevented by regularly spraying with field horsetail broth.
Winter Beans
Since these are annual plants, no winter protection is usually required. It is still possible to bring the roots over the winter. For this purpose, the roots of the cotton bean are dug up in autumn and stored in soil or sand. Hibernation should be done in a cool, dark location. It is important to ensure that the roots do not dry out. In the spring, the roots can be planted outdoors again.
Fire beans - popular varieties
The trade offers different types of fire beans. These are not only visually attractive, but also deliver high crop yields.
| Type | Flower Color / Characteristic |
|---|---|
| Fasolia Gigantes | • white flowers • large seeds |
| Scarlet Emperor | • red flowers • robust variety • very tasty |
| Hestia | • red-white flowers • only 30 cm high • ideal traffic light plant |
| White Giants | • white flowers • productive • tender and fleshy |
| Painted Lady | • red-white flowers • particularly decorative |
| Lady Di | • red flowers • threadless pods |
| Hammond's Dwarf Scarlett | • red flowers • low growing • high yielding |