We pulled our first dozen nice ripe brown ones off the tree yesterday - about half had been raided by sharp little beaks, but we ate them anyway

Sue wrote:I think the green ones are even better than dried and pick quite a few on purpose at this stage:D

I'm with you there Sue - and you can't buy the 'fresh' borlotti in the shops, it's a grower's delicacy

Hi chantal, I've had mixed results too. Sowed dwarf Borlotti and Dwarf Sonesta (yellow) and Purple Queen. I don't water my plot at all except at planting out time. The Borlotti usually yield some green beans before I let them dry, but they were tough and disappointing. Sonesta and PQ have done reall...

I get several harvests of comfrey each year, and every time I cut I put something around the plants - spent hops, horse manure or compost - it only seems fair!

Oh arthur, that made me laugh so much - the first PFA I dug up was exactly like you described! Growing for the first time this year, so I've left the rest in the ground and hoping that they fatten up, straighten out and slim down into something more like a potato! The taste was wonderful - I'd just ...

Does it work for him? Maybe he manages to get seed-killing temperatures, or turns his compost heap so the seeds start to sprout then get buried and die? Weed seed in my compost isn't a concern, as I use it as mulch (no-dig). If any annual seeds start to sprout, another layer of mulch on top smothers...

More squash? I'd be tempted to 'wait and see'?

As well as site and soil, preferred tastes and cooking preferences will come into play - my 'narrowed down' list is: Blue Hubbard (Hubbard group) Crown Prince (Australian Blue group) Marina di Chioggia Honey Boat Delicata Sibley (Pike's Peak) Buttercup These are all delicious, grow well in my soil, ...

Thanks retro, will keep your recipe for hoped-for gluts - I've just got 24 seedlings in!

So glad to know - it's my first time with buttercups this year too, and they do swell up fast then stop! So I'll leave them be and just peek at them now and then, they're much more prolific than any of the others. There seem to be fewer squash per plant than usual this year, and I'm not doing anythi...

Thank you very much piglet, you must let us know what you'd like in return

You could do either - I love both 'fresh' borlotti beans, which I freeze, and hardly need any cooking, and dried. To save time before your hols you could just leave the pods spread out and shell them when you get back, out of the way of the meeces

Trailing squash in the greenhouse - never again! Too much trouble watering, not enough room for them to romp, mildew and whitefly, and hardly a fruit compared to the prodigious spawn of their cousins outdoors And I'll give stuff more space in the g'house too - tried to cram in too much this year.

Not come across this one beeman, the friendly folk at Beans and Herbs may have some in their collection, they do keep an extraordinary range in the 'back office'
http://www.beansandherbs.co.uk/heirloombeanseed.htm

Yes, they sound right!