runner beans

In 2006 when we had that hot summer and drought (remember that) I grew runner Red Rum. Everybody I knew including, those on gardening shows, said that it was a very poor season for runners. With the Red Rum I had the best crop ever as they seem to perform better than most under those conditions.
As it looks like we will get another hot summer again, I would definitely recommend this variety, tasty too!

 

"As it looks like we will get another hot summer again"

Thanks heavens for that ... but I'm curious how you know?

 

I don't fully understand the phenomenon, but it's all to do with El Nino apparently, which means high pressure domminates in Northern Europe bringing cold, drier winter and hot drier summer. I know that we are experiencing a series of low pressure systems at the moment, but the overall trend is for more high pressure.

When we had that unusually cold spell in December a friend of mine was in Andalucia picking olives, it was so wet and muddy they had real problems gathering them.

These events normally last 12 months so hopefully a better summer in the offing.