Few runners on my beans

I have grown runner beans and french beans in large containers in the same fairly sunny spot in the garden for the first time this year. They are in a sheltered spot against a tall white painted wall. The french beans are good producers and I have picked several batches and they are still producing beans but the runner beans are not yielding many beans - think I have picked about 5 beans so far, lots of flowers, I can see tiny beans starting to form on some, leaves look healthy. I am wondering if they need a booster feed or something to get them going. I am using phostrogen when I water them and I mixed manure with the compost when I planted them up. What month are runner beans harvested? Live in Notts and weather has been very changeable.

 

Hi mogcat, welcome to GC.
I would have fed the beans with liquid tomato feed every week as soon as the first pods had set.
(That was probably around late June)
As your plants are generally healthy I'd guess feed was the main problem with few pods.
I found that this year, due to a dull cool July, beans were a bit slow.
The one's I've got at my allotment are producing kilos, whereas the few i put in at home in a patio barrel have been like yours..a low yield.
The french one's are probably a better choice for containers.

 

Thank you for your replies - so do you think tomato feed is better for runner beans than phostrogen?

 

Never been a fan of phostrogen .
I always thought runners liked cooler conditions, they tend to drop flowers in heat.
When I grew them they were always cropping better in the cooler days of september rather than July.
If the beans were forming but falling off I'm thinking feed and water.
I dont think Runners are a plant for containers

 

Only problem there, is that by September they are getting stringy and rough.
Tomato feed is best, and beans are in better eating condition before the end of August.
I'm still picking plenty now, but i take them at a smaller size than i did last month.
Fully agree that beans like a good deep loam in the ground where possible.

 

Thanks Pete - let's hope September puts some beans on the table! No flowers or any of the tiny beans have been falling off. I'm pretty sure watering has been fine - must be the feed. And yes maybe not best in containers, I will do all french beans next year if we get no runner beans to speak of. If I get some tomato feed how often should I water them with it ?

 

The only thing that i do notice on the sunny days however is that the beans are teeming with pollinating bees and their friends.
On the dull days there is little buzzing to be had lol.
So i guess we need a balance of weather which suits my patch and I've got a freezer rammed with frozen beans this year so no complaints from me!

 

Many years ago I remember trying over wintering runner bean roots in the green house.
The idea was to get earlier beans, perhaps.
When they regrew the following spring I got multiple shoots from each root but I don't remember them cropping any earlier.

 

Feeding should be at least once a week.
But size of containers could make that difference.
How about an experiment, very diluted feed at every watering.

 

Many thanks for all the replies I will try a diluted feed every time I water - may just save the day

 

Up here my runners (grown in the ground) have cropped really well again this year, so I agree with you Pete. In fact I can't keep up with them and having to freeze quite a few. I picked the first of them in the second week of August and if they continue the same as last year I will pick the last in mid October.

 

Our beans have not been to bad, but about 2 weeks ago they stop but now have just started to flower again, i've got some i planted in 1st week of August and flowering nicely so i'm hoping for a nice Autumn/Indian summer

The hot weather wasn't any good for my beans, still got to fill the freezer so yeild is down so far