Runner Beans

Hi

My mum wants to know if anyone knows the best strain of runner bean to plant and what month to plant them.

With thanks
Liz's Mum

 

Mmmm - that's a toughie! It all depends upon taste and environment.

 

Hi LizM. I grew Crusader ,Painted Lady and Kelvedon Marvel.
Have a browse and read the packets.Then have a chat with a local gardener who grows runners.

 

Agree with Nick - whatever does well locally is always a good bet.
Love the dahlias in your signature, MD! Which ones are they?

 

Thanks very much for your help

 

I always remember a saying, see them twice in May. Up here in deepest Wales I like to see my runners poking through mid May. You can start them off under cover and plant out 2nd week in May. Runners are good feeders and like a resonable layer of compost in the bottom of the trench I usually rake in some growmore a week before planting. You will need to buy some canes and watch out for slugs they love the new shoots.

 

That's a great help, she'll have to hurry up and get those beans planted!

 

I usually start mine off in pots around now - they usually come up in around 7 days. I also plant more than I need. Once they are going well, I plant them out either just before or after the Whitsun bank holiday. BUT BEWARE!!!! THEY ARE A SLUG'S FAVOURITE!!!!!!! I put my pots down on the patio overnight last year, next morinig, the WHOLE LOT WERE MUNCHED!!!!!! A handy hint , if you want to be green and avoid slug pellets, is to collect plastic bottles (2ltr) and chop off the top and bottom, and pop the middle tube round the seedlings. Once they are climbing up the canes, snip them open and take off.

I always go for a stringlees variety. The best EVER beans I have grown were a cheapie packet of Tesco's own runners, but typically, they haven't done them since!! :rolleyes:

I also always do a pot for my parents to put on their patio - runners are excellent container veg!!

Good luck!!

 

I grew Wisley Magic last year in pots and they were lovely- so am doing them again this year

 

I've grown Scarlet Emperor for the last couple of years - sometimes the old ones are the best!!!

 

Hi

Mum says thanks everso much for all the handy hints, she is especially delighted about the plastic bottle idea to put the slugs off and also delighted about the scarlet emporer as her dad used to grow those.

She has now potted her beans and they are growing in her greenhouse, I was even inspired and planted some too!

Liz :D

 

Ahem! Shows how well I'm checking my forums! I only just noticed your comment, dendrobium!! Can't recall which type of dahlias - they were in the "I'm nearly dead, rescue me!" stand in Homebase so I took pity on them. Got about 6 for 50p each and they all rewarded me like that!! Sadly, I failed to get them lifted for the winter so they all demised anyway!!

[ 06. May 2006, 08:46 PM: Message edited by: michaelmasdaisy ]

 

Hi Liz, I've grown "Enorma" for the last eight to ten years, good crop every year, wife's happy with the results, slow to go stringy. Plant now and you should be picking your first beans in mid July.

 

Packets are pretty cheap so I've got about 6 types and planted a few of each along the 'strange thing' I made. I'll decide which is best when I eat them.

See 'strange thing' below...

 

sawfish!...now we know where the goal nets from Wembley ended up after the pitch invasion!! :D