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Scarlet creeper

This American plant, known for its brilliant red flowers, can adorn your vegetable garden well

HARDY PLANT Looking good, tasting good

Scarlet runner beans or Pharolus multiflorus is also known as sem in Hindi, avarekayi in Kannada, chikkudukai in Telugu, seema avarakkai in Tamil, and avara in Malayalam.

This variety of beans belongs to the family Legumioseae. It is a perennial of climbing habit and a native of America with its brilliant red flowers.

This is a decorative perennial creeper that yields good quality beans. It is found growing all over our country. Its rapid growth and ornamental character make it the right plant for growing as a screen or as a backdrop in your vegetable garden.

The hows and what's

The soil should be rich and moist. Prepare the ground. Dig up the soil and mix rotten manure. Apply a little bone meal to the soil, along with compost. Remove clamps and make a bed of about 15 cms above the soil level so that the excess water should drain away and your beans should thrive. Fix trellis or stakes.

Make shallow furrows in the soil and sow the seeds. The seeds will sprout easily. Cover the seeds well with soil and water nicely. But keep them moist. Sow the seeds in June-July and the pods will be ready by October-November.

The gathering of pods should begin as soon as they are large enough for use — the half-grown being the finest for table use. One way to ensure soil moisture is to apply a thick mulch of compost or old grass choppings around the plant.

Scarlet runner beans is an attractive creeper in its own right and often planted for its red flowers and tasty fruit.

CHITRA RADHAKRISHNAN

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