How Are Your Beans Going?

We get around to this type of thread each year so I thought I'd start it now.

Some of you will know that we had a bit of a disaster with our runners. Most of our first batch were eaten by rabbits . We lost 42 runnerbean plants, half our French beans, as well as all our marrows and half of our courgettes - plus a lot of flowers. So I had to take a harsh line with them! Rabbit stew anyone?

So the second sowing replaced the ones that were eaten and we sowed extras to become our second cropping.

The Polestar runners (the only ones we now grow except when trialling new varieties) had a slow start - even taking into account the disaster. They grew pretty quickly but the flowers weren't setting. Over the last two weeks we have only managed three meals from them, but today I picked about 10lb. There are virtually no beans below the 3ft high level but I was able to pick quite a few from 8ft-10ft.

The third (emergency) sowing have now reached the top of the canes but are not ready to crop.

Some of the French beans are doing OK and others aren't. We didn't have any spares to replace the rabbited ones so are having to make do with what we have.

Blue Lake French beans, given to us by Steve R have raced past the top of the canes but haven't yet produced anything big enough to eat - although they seem to be coming on now.

A friend gave us some yellow French beans that were also slow but are producing some peculiar looking beans. The pods are curling and the bean inside is bulging. We don't know the variety.

The French beans that are doing superbly are Monte Christo, given to us for trial by Which?. They raced up the canes, have grown many side shoots and are cropping quite heavily. They're stringless and are nice round, long beans that are extremely sweet with a great texture. Maybe just a little too sweet for me but Mrs Shiney loves them and says they're the best she's ever had.

Anyone else growing these?

 

My Enorma have been cropping for a week or so now, I took a chance and started a few very early and they are have reached the top of the frame so I've nipped out the growing tip. The Polestar I got from your Open Day @shiney are a bit behind, no beans from them yet but I reckon they will in a week or two.

 

@JWK Yes, the Polestar are definitely slow this year. The second sowing (now the first since the rabbits) are the same sowing as the ones on Open Day and they're the ones that are now starting to crop heavily. I hope yours speed up. Mine now seem to go from flower to pickable in about 4 - 5 days.

Mine may have got ahead of yours because of the heavy watering they get. In this very hot, dry, weather they're getting six hours of sprinkler twice a week.

 

The ants farm the blackfly. They feed on the sweet exudation form the fly and move more fly to other plants.

 

Good morning,this year I though I would try something different,so I have grown "Firestorm" the first self fertile runner beans its not bean the best year locally for runner beans,(Slugs and snails)but I have about average amount so I shall be using them next year along with scarlet emperor,I shall have some to day with our lunch,as they are supposed to have a sweet taste,we shall see



Largest to date 1.25 ft

 

This is how mine looked earlier this evening, Enorma on the left and Polestar with a lot of catching up to do on the right:

 

Yes it is very good, I've raised it to around 7 ft high so there is room for the beans to dangle and I can walk underneath and pick them easier. It's around 5 years since I started using it. Getting the use of the bed underneath is such a boon in a small plot.