How to Grow Runner Cannellini Beans

Runner cannellini beans are not true cannellinis, but a type of white runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus). While cannellinis are annual plants, runner cannellinis are perennials that will freeze to the ground when the weather chills and return when it warms. Often grown for their gorgeous flowers, the pods can be eaten like green beans, as they are in Europe, or they can be shelled, dried and consumed as they are in Central America. Even the flowers are tasty in salads. Runner cannellini beans grow best in zones 7 and above on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Hardiness Zone Map.

Shovel
Aged manure
Compost
Mulch

Instructions

- 1
  Choose a sunny area of the garden in which to plant your runner cannellini beans.
- 2
  Prepare the bean bed by digging up the top 6 inches of soil, turning and crushing it until it there are no clumps larger than your fist. Add 3 inches of aged manure and mix it into the top 6 inches of soil.
- 3
  Sow the runner cannellini beans as soon as all danger of frost has passed and the soil remains at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Push the seeds 2 inches deep and place them 4 inches apart.
- 4
  Water the runner cannellini beans to keep the soil moist at all times.
- 5
  Add a 3-inch layer of compost or manure to the soil when the pods just start forming. Scratch it into the top 2 inches of soil and water as you normally do.
- 6
  Harvest runner cannellini beans that you grow for the pods as they ripen. Allow the foliage to dry and the pods to dry and wither on the vines to harvest for dried beans.
- 7
  Cut back the foliage in the fall or early winter and cover the runner cannellini plants with a 4- to 5-inch layer of mulch to protect them in areas with chilly winters.

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