Posted By:rocket veg Category: Growing Veg
After taking a close look at the weather forecast, I’ve finally planted out my climbing beans. A few other gardeners on the allotment site where I have my plot were brave enough to put their bean plants in the ground a week or two ago and ran the risk of the plants falling victim to a touch of late frost. We’ve had a few cold nights recently in this part of Bristol, with temperatures low enough to nip tender foliage – beans, courgettes, squash, outdoor toms and the like being very susceptible – and there’s nothing more disheartening than the sight of precious plants which have wilted in the overnight cold. With luck the foliage might recover and the plants survive, but the chances are they’ve had it and the only solution is to start all over again. Late sowings of most vegetable plants should catch up, so all is not lost if you lose your plants to frost (or slugs!) People who like to get their tender plants in the ground early go to extraordinary lengths to protect them. I’ve seen bean poles swathed in yards of fleece, cunningly held in place with clothes pegs – only to be swept aside by the wind or weighed down by an overnight soaking.
Climbing beans to try
I usually grow three types of climbing bean, runner, French and borlotti – fewer of the first two and lots of the latter. Borlotti beans, Lingua di Fuocco, are left on the plant and the pods dried in the autumn. The resulting beans, which resemble small, speckled eggs, are the perfect base for hearty winter casseroles, my personal favourite being spicy sausage and tomato. Much as I like ‘runners’, they must be picked and eaten when young and I’m not a fan of freezing them so don’t over plant or your friends and neighbours love beans. When it comes to runner or French beans, make sure you choose stringless varieties – my recommendations being Scarlet Emperor and White Lady (runner) and Cobra and Blue Lake (French climbing).
Whichever type of climbing beans you grow, they need a sunny spot and humus-rich soil, ideally sown above a trench full of rotting organic material - a ‘bean trench’.
How to support your climbing beans
All varieties of climbing beans are traditionally grown up a simple framework of long bamboo canes, either set out in a ‘wigwam’ of poles which are tied at the top – the perfect solution where space is limited or for growing beans in a large pot - or in a row with the canes in pairs, secured at the top to another cane which forms the ridge of the row. If you are growing climbing beans for the first time, take my advice and make the framework as sturdy as possible as strong wind will do its best to tear down a row of beans. I drive a couple of long iron poles into the ground at either end of where the framework will be and use plastic cable ties, rather than string, to join canes which are spaced 12in (30cm) apart with 45cm (18in) between the rows. I’ve given up trying to tie a secure knot in a length of garden twine, my hands two feet above my head.
Sowing beans
If you have lost your bean plants to an overnight cold snap, it’s not too late to sow seeds directly into the ground – two seeds at the base of each cane and the stronger plant left to climb and crop.
Caring for climbing beans
Once the beans reach the top of the supporting structure, pinch their tips out to encourage vigorous flowering and heavy cropping. Beans need a lot of moisture to produce a steady crop so water well as and when required. Aim to harvest the pods when they are young and tender. Frequent picking and an occasional feed with liquid fertiliser will encourage more beans to develop and should keep you supplied with a crisp and tender crop all through the summer.
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FAQs
Caring for climbing beans
Once the beans reach the top of the supporting structure, pinch their tips out to encourage vigorous flowering and heavy cropping. Beans need a lot of moisture to produce a steady crop so water well as and when required. Aim to harvest the pods when they are young and tender.
How far apart should I plant climbing beans? ›
Pole and runner bean seeds need three feet (91cm) between rows and 7 to 12 inches between plants. If you want your pole or runner bean plants to vine up a tepee-shaped support, dig holes in the corners of a three-foot square, and plant three pole bean seeds in each.
Do climbing beans need a trellis? ›
Support needs: Since bush beans grow short and sturdy, they don't have any special support needs, while pole beans need a sturdy trellis or bamboo poles to grow up.
Why are there no beans on my runner bean plants? ›
The main causes of failure to set pods are:
Lack of moisture at the roots. Poor soil or growing conditions, such as acid soils below pH 6.5, pest or disease problems, frost damage, lack of nutrients or organic matter. Lack of pollinating insects, perhaps because of cold, wet or windy weather.
Should I cut the tops off my runner beans? ›
When the runners reach the top of the canes, pinch out the tops (this means cutting the very tip off). This will encourage the plant to send out more shoots – and beans – below.
Should you take leaves off runner beans? ›
Best Time to Give Your Runner Beans a Trim
Pinch back the tops once they reach the summit of their supports. This encourages the plant to focus on flowering and pod production rather than excess foliage.
What is the secret to growing pole beans? ›
How to Grow Pole Beans
- Balance your soil pH. Pole beans prefer a slightly acidic soil with a pH of around 6.0. ...
- Provide sun. Pole bean plants need six to eight hours of full sun per day. ...
- Water properly. ...
- Mulch. ...
- Control pests and disease. ...
- Sow more beans.
Beans grow well in nutritious soils with good drainage. Properly loosen the soil to break up any clay-like structure. Beans are nitrogen-fixing plants; they can make the soil more fertile by drawing nitrogen. Just compost your soil, and you will be good to go to the next planting stage.
Can you plant green beans too close together? ›
Provide enough space. To plant bush bean seeds, sow them about one to one and a half inches deep and three inches apart, with your bean rows 18 inches apart. If you are planting pole beans, plant three or four seeds around each of the poles, four to eight inches apart, in rows that are two to three feet apart.
What month do you plant beans? ›
When soils are above 60ºF, space rows 18-24 inches apart and plant seeds 1 inch deep and 2-3 inches apart in the row. Plant beans every 14-21 days until mid-July for a continuous crop throughout the growing season.
How to Grow Beans from Seed. Climbing French beans tend to be smaller than runner beans and have more tender pods. The immature pods are eaten whole, semi-mature pods are shelled and the beans inside eaten, mature pods can also be shelled and the beans eaten fresh or dried and stored like kidney beans.
What is the best fertilizer for runner beans? ›
Feed runner beans with a general liquid fertiliser each time you water them, then switch to a tomato fertiliser once the first flowers start to form. Mix the tomato fertiliser at half the manufacturer's recommended rate.
Why are my beans blooming but no beans? ›
High temperatures - When the temperatures go too high (normally above 85 F./29 C.), bean flowers will fall off. The high heat makes it difficult for the bean plant to keep itself alive and it will drop its blossoms. Soil is too wet - Bean plants in soil that is too wet will produce blooms but will not produce pods.
How do you increase the yield of runner beans? ›
From the off, runner beans love moisture and, in many ways, keeping them warm and well-watered is key to growing them. However, if a sudden hot spell happens then cooling the plants down can help with pollination, so on hot days water well in the morning and sometimes in the evening too.
Should I pinch out tips of broad beans? ›
Aftercare - pinching out and staking
As soon as young beans appear at the base of the plant it's time to 'pinch out' the growing tips. Go to the very top of the plant and remove the tip with two leaves attached, you can compost these or steam them as a leaf vegetable.
Should you pinch pole beans? ›
More probably pole bean pinching will encourage growth to stems and leaves and away from the beans…. at least during the beginning and middle of the growing season. To increase the number of beans in a harvest, continue to pick beans frequently, which pushes the plant to produce abundantly.
Do dwarf beans need pinching out? ›
As with other broad beans, you can pinch out the growing tip once lower pods have formed to deter black flies. (Some of us wait until we see the blackfly first, but if you want to be preemptive, do it sooner.) These beans are especially subject to predation by slugs and other garden pests.
