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Growing Articles Growing beans Has anyone tried growing soya beans in the uk?
| Has anyone tried growing soya beans in the uk? |
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| Tuesday, 17 January 2012 20:14 |
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I have to admit that most of my favourite nights out include a trip to wagamama's restaurants, there on the side dishes menu you will find my favourite new discovery Edamame, essentially soya beans, steamed served with salt. You suck hard on the shell and pop out the beans, lovely!
So on my last visit I wondered why nobody ever grows them in the UK, after a little research it turns out that they originate from the far east, and need a big long hot summer to prosper. Not much chance of finding one of those in the UK. But all is not lost, some varieties are available that will grow well in the UK, not needing such a long summer. I am going to be trying to grow Elena this year, not sure how suited it is going to be for my home Edamame supply, but worth a go.
Soya beans will also open the road to Tofu and other Soya products, but that may be a bit beyond my skills. Would love to know if anyone else has tried growing soya.
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| Last Updated on Saturday, 21 January 2012 00:35 |
Comments
My guess would be that they won't do very well but I'd love to know how you get on. One thing which may help is a trick the Victorians used for growing more exotic things, such as peach trees, and that's to grow them against a sunny brick wall to maximise the heat. You don't say where you live but with such a tall plant you'd need to be careful how you fasten them in, particularly if you're in a windy area.
This is quite an old article but may be helpful, if you've not already seen it
http://www.btinternet.com/~bury_rd/bean.htm
In one area benefitting from full sun, with sandy (depleted) soil, I planted, Broad, Runner, Edameme(soy), Butter, and drawf Fine Beans, and both Mangetout and regular peas. The broad and runner beans where fantastic. The fine beans and peas where OK. The Edameme(soy) just about gave back as many beans as I planted. and the Butter beans just sulked and did not fruit at all.
I think I may have had better results with a little more sun and heat here in N. Cheshire. If you live in a warmer spot then give them a try. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
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