[erainn]

So, here I am proudly looking at my first ever crop of Borlotti beans. Some are red and speckled, others less so, and more a creamy white colour. Does that suggest they need leaving in the pod longer, or can I still harvest and leave them to dry/ripen?

[mumofstig]

It's best to leave them to dry on the plant if you can

[compostqueen]

I leave mine out until the plants begin to go dry and brown. If heavy rain is forecast I pull the whole lot off the supports (in the case of the climbing ones) and bring them indoors to dry off naturally and for the beans to drop out of the shells. I put baskets etc underneath to catch the beans. Mice love them so make sure whereever you put them the mice can't get to them
Once all the beans have dropped out the shells put the foliage into the compost bin and you can leave your beans to dry in the house (not the kitchen or bathroom though) to finish drying. Or dry them in a drying machine.  Once dry then can be stored in glass jars. Stand back and admire. They look almost too good to eat 

[erainn]

Thanks The plants are looking pretty wated now, pods are getting crisp, red and some are totally dry, hence I have opend a few and stored the beans in a dry place at home, in the hope they will ripen and dry. From the advice given, g
uess it's a touch early then?

[Carollan]

Erainn,I`m sooooooooo jealous.My borlotti plants have only just produced flowers,the plants have been very very slow in this hot weather,even though I`ve watered them.I`m in the midlands,I think it`s been almost as hot here as in Sussex.

So come on,spill the beans ,what`s your growing borlotti beans secret? 

[erainn]

Carollan, pure fluke, as I'm new to growing.

[shokkyy]

I've got quite a few nice big pods on mine, some of which are red and some still green. They don't seem to be swelling though. Even the ones that have been big red pods for ages seem to be pretty flat. Will they swell enough so I can feel the individual beans or not?

[kosh42|EFG]

I hear a good tip is to put them in the freezer for a couple of days then re-dry them. This apparently kills bean weevils eggs that can start demolishing your dry beans in storage...

[Carollan]

If I freeze them after drying them,will I still be able to soak and cook them later on in the winter.........that is,if I get more than enough to save for planting next year!

[jonewer]

Wish I had read this before I went and picked all my pods! 

Half of them are green and some of the other half are iffy..... Are the green ones ruined? or will they ripen?