Topic: runner beans- how many

[blight]

beans per bean pole?  with the french type climbers- i plant 6-8 per stick but as nobody round here grows runners- i have no idea how many of them i need.
not that it´s very urgent but i am just counting my beans for spring sowing and want  to know desperately.

[tim]

6-8 per stick?? I would hate to unravel that lot!!

We find that 25 plants - pole each - are just right for the 3 of us. I have never put more than 2 per pole.

[blight]

as far as french climbers are concerned: everybody round here plants 6-8 per stick.
next daft question:
runner beans: don´t you get a bigger crop if you plant more beans? with french ones you certainly do.

[redimp]

I do two per pole as well.  This year I mixed my reds and whites but I am going to keep them all seperated this year eg. red wig wam for eating fresh, red wig wam for drying, white wig wam for...

[blight]

i use the french-bean-pole which is 3,50 metres long.  i wouldn´t want them to grow much taller than this.

[MikeB]

According to the vegetable growers bible it's 4 - 6 per pole

MikeB

[blight]

which bible?

[MikeB]

The vegetable gardener's bible, written by Edward C. Smith.  Available from amazon.

MikeB

[blight]

any good?  detailed? the "c" in his name suggests north america?
adaptable to european gardens (climate/crops)?

[grotbag]

Hi all, last year I put 3 per pole and had a bumper crop

[redimp]

The vegetable gardener's bible, written by Edward C. Smith.  Available from amazon.

MikeB

Synopsis
Renowned American vegetable gardener Ed Smith, works according to four principles. He explains these principles: wide rows, organic methods, raised beds and deep soil, to show how to grow high yield crops and produce better quality food.

Available here

[karrot]

hi mike, cannot find book at amazon, not under that name or title? sounds like the kind of book i want for xmas

[ALAN HOWELL]

I did 24 plants ,one per pole and fed the whole family and most of the neighbours. ;)......Alan

[MikeB]

Hi Blight,
I think it's very good, I've lent it to two friends who have since brought their own copy.  The thing with books though is it is definitely one man's meat is another man's poison.  What I always do and I recommend you do the same is get your local library to get it in, have a read, then buy if you like it.
Hi Karrot,
I went to amazon and found it straight away, thats www.amazon.co.uk

If you click on RC 'here' it will take you straight there.

MikeB

[Derekthefox]

Its taken me ages just to scroll through this thread !!! I plant two beans per pole, french types, as I don't eat runners. We adore the borlottis, but can never grow enough to satisfy our appetites ... More beans next year is one of my 'must do' resolutions ... I use do climbers as I find them easier to manage and more productive ...

Derekthefox :D

[Melbourne12]

We tried three runner beans per pole on one lot this year.  Highly productive, but even though I thought I'd put up a pretty strong row of poles, they toppled under the weight and had to be guyed up.

I'm sticking to two per pole next year.

[blight]

@derekthefox,

We adore the borlottis, but can never grow enough to satisfy our appetites .

in this case, why not try to sow 6-10, as everybody does with french-type borlottis (on the continent, that is)
now i´m pondering, why on earth people in the uk plant 1 or 2 seeds, when the restof the universe plants 6-10.
i wonder if it is a case of being an island and doing things differently anyway.
(wrong side of the road, unarmed policemen(?), last orders in the pub...)
now there is only one reason, that makes a bit of sense:
being a windswept island- i wonder if the canes, being burdened with all that growth from 6-10 beanplants might not topple over in a gale.
maybe this is the reason?

[tim]

All one can say is that, with only one runner per pole, I find it very difficult to see and pick all the beans. With more, there would be so much foliage that few would grow straight.

French beans have very much less foliage?

[blight]

yes,they do.
but maybe it´s a matter of the climate as well. if you get that sort of crop from one plant, then it really makes not much sense to sow  more.
round here runner beans don´t get pollinated that well in summer. its only in autumn that they develop  a lot of pods. when it´s really a bit late.
much to my regret as i much prefer them to the french variety.

[blight]

@wardy
it started off  as a trick-question.
no.
looking at all the answers the whole monstrosity of the one- bean- per- pole-position dawned on me.
till i realised it might  make sense after all, being windswept and blessed with a runner-friendly cool and moist climate .