I know it’s probably weeks after anybody else, and i know that the blackfly and ants have happily set up camp on our beans like Swampy protesting against a new road, but they have arrived!
They are in the picture as large as life, just left of the leaves….no, right a bit, now down a bit….erm, well they are there, even if they are small, which makes me ecstatic.
Soon, there will be nothing but runner beans! Hurrah!
Tags: growing runner beans
July 30th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Mine also have started only one or two weeks ago. I still find them a rather disapointing crop when compared to bush beans.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
You’re weeks ahead of me, not even flowers yet
I dug the bed late though…
July 31st, 2008 at 5:22 am
Same here - most of my Painted Lady plants died back during that hot dry spell in May, and the sole survivor is only just starting to crop. Oh, and the scarlet-flowered runners I planted in an unpromising corner of my garden two years ago are back again and flowering - I really must tie them up against the fence!
July 31st, 2008 at 7:30 am
Our Scarlet Runners took over the garden last year. If you visit our blog and look at posts from July of 2007 you’ll see just how seriously over grown these climbing wonders got. We definitely didn’t go without green beans this year!
Good luck. We know it’s a big thrill to see those first beans emerge from the mass of foliage. You’ll be covered in beans yourself here soon.
July 31st, 2008 at 10:14 am
Im thinking that we will be overgrown soon. I took this pic last week, as we are on hols at the moment, and back in a couple of days. Im looking forward to walking into the dense undergrowth that will be our garden!!!
August 1st, 2008 at 5:38 pm
You’re ahead of me as well!
August 4th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
My beans are almost finished! Think I got them started a bit too soon, but have been impressed with the harvest so far. Still got a few more beans growing, so not finished just yet.
On the matter of black-fly and ants, I tried a tip that ultimately came from Bob Flowerdew, and spread some jam (he recommended marmalade) onto the canes that my beans were climbing up. Within a week, the ants had stopped farming the black-fly (as they now had something more fun to eat!), and started to eat the black fly instead (as now become protein for them).
I love nature.
August 4th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Hi SQ, might be worth you putting another load in! I planted some peas 3 weeks ago, and they are still cropping. Unbelievable really…i think sometimes i’m too constrained by what the packet says!