Peas and Beans.
Peas and Beans.
Runner Beans: Originally grown for ornamental purposes the culinary use for runner beans quickly became apparent. We grow both the red and white flowered varieties and use bamboo canes from China to support the crop. The plant always grows anti-clockwise up the canes, possibly because it originated in South America. (The indigenous hop plant grows clockwise up its support.) Harvest from late June to Mid-October.
Dwarf French (or Green) Beans: Grown without support on bush plants, Dwarf French Beans are a versatile crop being eaten either hot or chilled and dressed in a salad. The delicious "crunch" of this bean also makes it an excellent stir fry ingredient. Fine Beans are very similar but, as the name suggests are varieties that have smaller diameters. Harvest from early July to Mid-October.
Broad Beans: Sold in the pod they are delicious when picked young. They are enjoying a well-deserved resurgence in popularity with a number of celebrity chefs promoting the virtues of the tender beans that we aim to produce. Harvest from early June to Mid-August.
Peas: A harbinger of Summer, early podded peas are sweet and delicious whether eaten fresh from the pod or lightly boiled with a sprig of mint. Over 350 years ago Samuel Pepys wrote in his famous diary of enjoying his first fresh peas of the season, in late May. This is very similar to our first picking date today. Harvest from late May to Mid-July.
Sugar Snap Peas: a recent addition to the farm range the whole pods are eaten and, as their name suggests, they are sweet but also are crunchy and delicious. Harvest from Mid-June to Mid-August.
