Topic: How are your beans doing ?

[chriscross1966]

Broadies still going great guns at home.... fighting ants trying to farm aphids on the dwarf ones ATM though..... Msot of the climbing beans are now out, should finish them this evenin g

chrisc

[antipodes]

I didn't do broad beans this year, no one in  my place wants to eat them. But in some ways I regret it because I think they are really handsome plants. oH well, you can't grow everything!
I sowed my Cobra beans under trellises on Saturday. They were great last year. I also have some Fin de Bagnols dwarf French on the go. I sowed another row of those on the WE too. Yum, lovely beans!

[non-stick]

I love fresh broad beans - about 5 plants survived  from the three full rows that were looking great before the snow hit and these are now producing. The replacements I put in have looked great and are starting to pod up. I went for a red-flowered variety as replacements and they looked very attractive.

Noticed the blackfly are putting in an appearance though. Runners are behind but are catching up.

[betula]

Climbing now  :)

[betula]

Broadies doing well,amazed what I have packed into my little patch.

[Digeroo]

By broad beans are great though I have managed to have another run in with the manure and one patch are looking very sorry for themselves.   But most are 5-6 feet tall.    I only had three plants that survived the winter and the february sown ones have long since overtaken them.   So I cannot really see the point of sowing in October/November.   Only one plant with black fly so far.

First batch of runners doing great they are now 3/4plus of the way up the poles.  Last year managed to leave the cloches on too long and cooked them, got it right this year.  They are just beginning to produce flowers.  Rather late with some of the others but they are all doing well.  We suffer a lot from furry bees that bore holes in the back of the flowers which then drop off without producing beans, so I am trying Moonlight which are supposed to be self fiertile.

Some of my french beans also suffering manure issues so I have had to swap things round a bit.  Luckily I decided to do an experiment and put one row with manure, one with compost, one with leaf mould and one with recycled.  So have had to change the manure row to sweet corn and dug a new bean trench.  I have lots of different french beans on the go.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I never nip them. Don't do it as soon as flowers appear, as thet happens when they're pretty small.

[gwynnethmary]

I never nip them. Don't do it as soon as flowers appear, as thet happens when they're pretty small.

Why not?

[betula]

Well when you nip out you are trying to produce a bushier plant,unless you want a very small bushier plant that is  ;D

No doubt someone will tell me I am wrong but I only nip them to get rid of the worse of blackfly .

[gwynnethmary]

This is my first year, and so I nipped mine out as per instructions in the book I have about allotments.  It said it would help to discourage blackfly.  Mine are Sutton, and small and bushy anyway! Most of them have several branches.  We were very excited way back in February when we sowed our first seeds, and now they look really healthy and attractive with their white flowers with black markings- can't wait for those first tasty beans!

[landimad]

I never nip out the tops, it just stops the beans coming on mine. I seem to get just the same amount of pods. I love them, but the kids are not keen so I only do about a dozen or so to top up the freezer for me and the OH.

[Robert_Brenchley]

The idea of nipping out is to get rid of the blackfly. I don't bother because aphids on the tips don't bother the plant, and if they're there, they'll be on other vulnerable spots as well. It's only when a plant gets smothered that it shows signs of being affected, and even then, the tougher ones like Aquadulce Claudia cope perfectly well. The only time I've ever had real problems was what I grew Cosso Violetto, which doesn't seem to have any aphid resistance at all. I wouldn't bother again.

[betula]

Noticed ants are farming blackfly on one of my broad beans...........guess just soapy water?? ???

[cornykev]

I noticed black fly on my runners yesterday, where's them bloody ladybirds gone.   ;D ;D ;D

[artichoke]

Even though the snow hammered most of my autumn sown broad beans, I still think it is worth it. Maybe the spring sown ones do catch up, but my surviving autumn ones are producing mature pods, and my spring ones are not, yet.

[chriscross1966]

All  the climbing beans seem to be going now, looked at the allotment last night... only ones that seemed less than happy were the dwarf yin-yangs, looks like they're sulking after polanting out.... don'#t blame them, the bit of soil they';re in isn';t that great....

chrisc

[betula]

Yes saw loads of Ladybirds earlier in the year and now have not seen one for ages   ???

[manicscousers]

blue lake and cosse violete nearly to the top of their poles, no pods yet , barlotti etc about 2' high  :)

[valmarg]

Shall have our first taste of broad beams any day now.

We have grown a variety of runner/french bean Moonlight in a tub in the greenhouse, as a bit of an experiment.  Well, they are more that at the top of their canes, and growing through the greenhouse windows.  Loads of flowers on, and am looking forward to trying them.

valmarg

[Georgie]

Shall have our first taste of broad beams any day now.


valmarg

Times are hard, eh?    ;D

G x