Blue/green fungus on beans

Hi Balcony ...
I hope you get the information you need...

I hope so, too! You're really "on the ball" again! I only published the blog about 10 minutes ago!

Oh, oh, got to run & take the latest batch out of the oven!

Lol. :o)))

I dont know anything about Pinto Beans, but nature means Runner Beans to dry off in their shells.
I have some lying on a window sill without any heat, which will dry too much and be useless, and some still hanging on the vine which are fine.
These will be removed and saved in a dry place for next season.
I wouldnt eat those mouldy beans.

Thanks, Diane, we've got rid of the mouldy beans. There are far too many plants of Pinto beans to leave to dry naturally. They stayed in the ground till they had begun to turn yellow. Some of the plants had dried up before I harvested them. When I do my next blog on the allotments, probably next week, I will include a few pictures of Pinto beans, at different phases.

The Pinto beans are a fairly short climber - not at all like Runner beans & the beans are dried off to be eaten at a later date. You can find them in the supermarkets, in the section dedicated to Pulses. That's where we buy them. We also buy Lentils (not split) & Garbanzo beans, (aka Chic peas).

I'm sorry to hear about your beans but I'm afraid I can't help. I hope you get an answer from somewhere as to whether you can eat them or not. As you say, it would be a shame to waste them ...

Thanks, Hywel. We put a lot in the oven again at a higher temp & for longer. They6 are now mixed with dry rice so I hope this time we have done the right thing!

Hi Balcony.
I suggest that you give the beans a short boiling water dip right after harvesting. Then let them dry.

This blue/green fungus also appears on some bean seeds that germinate on moist kithenpaper. I added photo "Blue green fungus on bean seeds" at "Garden Pictures".
I use this germination method to grow small bean plants indoors and to plant them in the garden soil. Bean seeds with blue fungus do not germinate well and give a bad smell.
When dry bean seeds get a short immersion (10 - 20 seconds) in boiling tap water, there is (almost) no fungus on the beans during germination. So boiling water "deletes" the fungus traces on dry beans.

Greets, Sjef.

Hi Sjef, welcome to GoY!

Thanks for that information. They weren't dried enough in the oven & when put in plastic bags they obviously sweated & then the fungus grew. I threw the majority away but those that didn't show signs of this fungus I put back in the oven for a longer period of time & at a higher temp. When they had cooled I put them in plastic bags again but mixed in with some dry rice. They were OK & we have since eaten them with no ill effects. :-))

As I have brought some more home from the allotment I will heed your advice & put them in boiling water for a few seconds. Thank you for your advice! :-))

I hope we will see more of you on GoY! :-))

Hello Balcony,

Thanks, I'm glad that my tip can help you. And that you did not get ill.
The GoY site is new to me. I found it when I googled "blue fungus on beans".

I have some questions/remarks.
- I added a photo about the fungus at "Garden Pictures", as extra information. How can this photo be put in my former comment? Or can someone make a link to this photo in that comment?
- About your harvested beans: I think that the beans have been dryed for a too short time. And when packed in plastic bags, they could not dry anymore.
When I harvest dry beans, I pick "almost dry" pods with seeds from the plant. I put the pods in a plastic net (as used for packaging oranges or mandarines). I hang the net under a roof in the open air and let the pods dry for 2 to 4 weeks. Then I take the beans out and let them dry on kitchen paper indoors for some days.
The dried beans are stored in a box made of paper (thin cardboard). I use empty rice or macaroni boxes of 400 to 500 grams. These boxes are not airtight.
I never saw fungus on these beans.
- On my weblog sjefgardentips.wordpress.com you can find many useful tips for a vegetable garden.

Greetings, Sjef.

You can't add photos to comments I'm afraid. I wish it were possible but it isn't - not on GoY at least. You can do it on other gardening sites like MyFolia.

I've had a quick look at your site & find it quite impressive! Your tips are very well explained, it must take you a long time to go through every little step & add photos to the steps as well!

I just looked up "blue fungus on beans" & found my post on here was the 2nd that came up! Not much help though!

I also realized that the beans hadn't been dried for long enough! I'm still experimenting though! I didn't want to "cook" them, only dry them. That's why I used a low temp & left the oven door open a little.

Since I did the surviving beans a 2nd time they have been alright. We still have some that haven't been cooked yet. We will probably eat them in a week or so.

Thanks for the quick look at my weblog. Gardening is a big hobby of mine. I'm retired since January 2011, so I've time to think, do, make photos and fill my weblog.

One more thing about dried beans:
When you store them for a long time (several months), maggots or "maggot babies" can appear between the beans.
To overcome this problem put the dried beans in a plastic bag and put the bag with beans for 24 hours in a freezer at - 18 C (0 F). Then take the beans out of the plastic bag and store them in a paper bag or paper or cardboard box or so. I've tried it and it works well, no maggots or any other little animals to be seen.
This method is well known at the internet.
Sjef

That's another great tip! Thanks very much! :-))