[Brassica Blaz]

hi everyone.can someone help me?.i had a great crop of runners this year and ive left a fair few on the plants for seed next year,but they seem to be taking ages to go brown ,i cut the stems weeks ago but there all still green.can i take them off and dry them off in the house? or are they still soaking up goodness from the plant ? will the frost get to them?am i panicking unecessaryily? advice would be appreciated.

[compostqueen]

I am drying borlottis in the house at the moment, the last of the stragglers. They dry well in the house as long as it's not the kitchen or bathroom

Mine are in a basket in the conservatory. Once dried they can be put in a paper bag in a dark drawer

[JayG]

They won't mature any further outdoors now (having chopped the stems weeks ago presumably they are now dead?)

Bring them indoors, dry and store as CQ suggests, rejecting any which are damaged or noticeably smaller than the others.

Also be aware that although self-fertile they need insects (usually bees) to "trip" pollination which makes them open to cross-pollination with other runner beans; this will almost certainly have happened if you were growing two or more varieties together but is also quite likely if there were other varieties being grown elsewhere in your area.

[Brassica Blaz]

thanks for the advice guys,i"ll bring em on in.