Topic: Dwarf v climbing beans

[bluecar]

Hello all.

Having had several replies on my thread regarding Cobra French beans, Kea's reply about Maxi as a dwarf variety has made me wonder about the virtues of growing climbing v dwarf varieties. I have never grown dwarf as I've felt the yield per square metre is likely to be far higher from climbers. However many people grow dwarf varieties and also both types.

What are your views on the pros and cons of growing dwarf and climbing beans?

Regards

Bluecar

[delboy]

Dwarf ones can be sown/planted out that much later and you'll still get a crop

[Paulh]

In past seasons, I've found that dwarf varieties have much more slug damage - the beans trail on the ground. This year the b******s have eaten most of the plants anyway so there is no difference.

[kippers garden]

I've grown both and now I only grow dwarf beans - actually I grow the one you mentioned 'maxi' and I get a bigger yield from the dwarf beans ( though bending over hurts when you have to pick loads).

This year I sowed them twice as the first lot never even came up (in modules in my greenhouse). The 2nd lot are still growing now but they aren't looking too good, I can only blame the weather.

[powerspade]

I grow both types. Dwarf - Canadian Wonder give me a pick about 3 weeks earlier than my Enorma runners. I let the dwarf run to seed once the runners are producing. The dwarf seeds give me stack of red beans to use in chilies and stews for the winter also I keep back some seed for resowing the following year. 

[mickstani]

Climbing every time. Larger crop from smaller footprint and less damage to beans and my back. The popular Cobra is my current favourite.

[Digeroo]

I grow both. I have Mrs Lewis's climbing cropping very well at the moment.  But find you can put in some dwarfs into any spaces.  Put in a row next to the blighted potatoes.

I sowed dwarfs the beginning of July and put them in where the early potatoes had come out.  Climbers in that bed would have shaded my autumn raspberries too much.  PurpleTeepee are already showing signs of flowering.

I also grow dwarf ones in a bucket in the spring and bring them in at night.

[Chrispy]

I've grown the dwarf bean 'Safari', think they taste a lot better than my climbers (blue lake and cobra).

[shirlton]

(though bending over hurts when you have to pick loads).quote by kippers garden
That why we only grow runners ;D

[Digeroo]

I like safari too but so do the slugs.

[caroline7758]

I've always had more success with dwarf, but agree about the slugs this year, and also heavy rain has caused a lot of "splash" so they need washing before use.

[artichoke]

I decided years ago to grow only climbing beans of various sorts because they yield more and are not so susceptible to slugs (but I am amazed by my daughter's slugs which reduced my first planting for her to bare climbing stems, no leaves at all!)

Even now I find slugged leaves quite high up. I believe you get a quicker return form dwarf beans, but not such a long season?

[manicscousers]

We've grown our dwarf french beans in bottomless buckets this year, keeps the beans away from the slugs. Plus, we put a copper band around the pots, made a great difference, these are on the later sowing. The early ones were eaten flat  ::)

[chriscross1966]

THe only dwarf I tend to grow these days is Speedie, in pots in the greenhouse for an early crop, and it can be very fast, but it only crops a single flush (the plant is tiny, even by dwarf standards).... I have grown others but mostly as tests to see what they were like for shelling beans, and the answer was "not worth the effor" compared to either climbers or specialised shelling dwarfs... though this year even the specialists (Yin-Yang, Ernies Big Eye and Flajoly) haven't done that well, the best of the climbing shellers seems to be Bridgewater, which means it's now joined the "must grow" pile, it was in danger of being deleted or only grown to keep the seed stock going, but its performance in bad conditions has been excellent, the only one to get close to it is Polish CLimber, it's normally very early, but the weather this year hasn't been kind.... there are no beans on the borlotti's yet adn I think that this is the last year I'll bother with them... somewhere in there there are some Bird Egg plants in there but they'll be joining the "seed stock" list for next year, four rose beans in the list is two too many :D... of the rest it look slike I'll get some Mennonite Stripe, thos big fleshy pods take an age to dry but I live in hope, we'll need a decent start to the autumn.... of the rest, I doubt I'll get much of the outdoor gigandas, though the indoor ones should produce a decent crop for seeds, the outdoor ones will get frozen wet, the Lima beans are looking good, the climbing pintos are at least climbing.... but it hasn't been a good year.... not a disaster, but not a good one either...

My take on the dwarf s climber... especially for shelling, dwarfs guarantee something gets cropped, climbers give a lot bigger crop in the same space if you get a decent year....

[bluecar]

Interesting comments folks.

Bluecar

[gardener]

Over several years I tried a number of varieties of French beans, climbing and dwarf  (on very sandy soil, which I enrich with lots of compost and horse manure).  My view: cobra comes out top of the list.  The crop this year is fantastic (after a dodgy start).  The cobra flavour superb.  This evening I made a risotto primavera - with loads of cobra beans, chard and courgettes, and  the last of the broad beans.

[artichoke]

That reminds me - has anyone else's "climbing Borlotto" from T&M failed to climb? I shared an order with a friend, and he was incensed at his row, crouching at the bottom of the sticks he had put up for them. Mine haven't either, but because only a few survived I took little notice. But he has a long row of them, all firmly dwarf in spite of the packet.

[chriscross1966]

I've had qyuite a few supposedly climbing beans of all descriptions do that this eyar, so it might well be conditions... couple of the Limas, three of 10 Blue Lakes, several of the climbing kidney beans....

[Digeroo]

Welcome to A4A Gardener.

I have a set of climbing beans right in the middle between two dwarf rows, they were supposed to be Teepee.  I have had to trail them to the ends of the rows and put up some wigwams for them.  I like Teepee because they hold their pods up well above the grown making picking easy.  

I  am currenly eating Mays sowing of broadbeans while June's are in full flower with Julys just opening.

[Russell]

I'm a purple podded grower and have enjoyed both dwarf and climbing forms over many years. Its hard to say which is best, this year I am growing both.
Recently I have preferred dwarfs, grown at six inch spacings all round so that the leaf canopy closes over, in batches. As each batch comes ready I pull up the plants and retire to a deck chair with large cold drink and get the pods off the plants. The pods are then prepared and frozen and the plants go on the compost heap. This technique is kind to my back, and saves fiddling about with supports but is expensive in large cold drinks.
I've previously grown purple podded climbers in my greenhouse for a wonderfully early crop of top quality top flavour beans. The plants took over my greenhouse and fruited copiously until I was sick of picking them.