[pdblake]

Hi, I grew a couple of rows of borlotti beans this year. They were drying nicely on the plants and I intended to harvest them today.

I got to the plot and the pods are all empty. They look like they've twisted, like spirals, but not a sign of a bean anywhere, in the pods or on the ground.

The question is, have I just left them too long and the pods have split by themselves and the birds or some other wildlife have got them, or do I have a two legged vermin problem?

I don't recall them doing this before and I've grown them for a few years now.

[snowdrops]

Sounds like a thief be it 2 or 4 legged have had them, probably a squirrel I’d have thought

[pdblake]

Yeah, I was thinking more likely wildlife. Not sure a thief would sit there podding them all on the plants and not leave a single one on the ground, more likely just pull the lot and take them away.

Not seen any squirrels about though.

I was thinking of getting a wildlife camera to leave up there but it'd probably go the same ways as the beans

[Blewit]

Magpies pinch ours. Don't know if they even eat them but just drop them elsewhere as they fly off.

[Richard Yates]

Now I'm worried. My borlitti beans have nice red and white pods, which are tough, seeds bulging, not splitting, plants still mainly green. When should I take them?

[Blewit]

For saving as dried beans ideally the beans inside should be dry before harvesting. We wait until the pods are dry and brown but harvest before too many split. If they're almost ready you could harvest now and leave them spread out to dry.

[missmoneypenny]

Probably TMI but I recently ate borlotti beans saved from last year and boy were they tough to digest. Could not stop farting for a whole day afterwards.