The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: langdon on June 02, 2011, 10:45:45 pm

Title: runner beans
Post by: langdon on June 02, 2011, 10:45:45 pm
is anyone elses runners taken a while to get going or is just ours?
have been out with the hose again tonight and trying to persude those lose runners to climb up the poles.
i wonder is the heat got to do with it e.g. dry ground.

langdon :farmer:
Title: Re: runner beans
Post by: Beewyched on June 03, 2011, 12:10:52 am
Ours were definately slow to get going this year, probably because of the weather, they were 4 different types that we grew last year with fairly good results.  They were just starting to get going & the deer came through & demolished every single one of the 24 of them, plus 20 pea plants that were just about to flower  ::)
Title: Re: runner beans
Post by: ellied on June 03, 2011, 08:57:09 am
I have runner bean problems already posted about - my peas are in a different bed and are well grown but no sign of flowers yet.. I have Kelvedon and also a Mangetout variety and some of the latter didn't come up so put more of the K's in the spaces before realising I now won't know which is what ::) so am just waiting to see what flowers, if anything ;)
Title: Re: runner beans
Post by: Frieslandfilly on June 03, 2011, 10:40:34 am
Mine are slow also and we are in the south, cold winds and low nightime temps didnt help, now we have some heat hopefully they will zoom away!
Title: Re: runner beans
Post by: Fleecewife on June 03, 2011, 11:06:37 am
I have runner bean problems already posted about - my peas are in a different bed and are well grown but no sign of flowers yet.. I have Kelvedon and also a Mangetout variety and some of the latter didn't come up so put more of the K's in the spaces before realising I now won't know which is what ::) so am just waiting to see what flowers, if anything ;)
Once they start cropping you will be able to tell from the pod shape, even before the Kelvedon fill out and the MTs don't.  You might make a few mistakes, but MTs can be podded as well if they grow too fat. :peas: :peas:
Title: Re: runner beans
Post by: Womble on June 03, 2011, 12:16:54 pm

We ended up with a big patch of them in the polytunnel, more or less by accident (meant to start them in there and move them outside, but they're too big to move now!).

Anyhow, I suppose I've got the opposite problem - can anybody tell me if I should I pinch the tops off now they're hitting the ceiling, or just keep weaving them back in?  ;D
Title: Re: runner beans
Post by: Fleecewife on June 03, 2011, 02:04:47 pm
Once my beans hit the crop bars at 8' I put up strings to take them horizontally and they usually manage another 2 or 3 feet, with the beans hanging down to pick.
Title: Re: runner beans
Post by: NorthEssexsmallholding on June 03, 2011, 08:02:01 pm
just got canes up with twine across, they are only just ready to plant out
Title: Re: runner beans
Post by: little blue on June 03, 2011, 09:30:51 pm
I've just set the third lot - the first 2 either rotted or just didnt gro at all.
so new seeds set ... fingers crossed.

(and the broad beans are just flowering, so its been a long hungry gap!)