runner beans

[shirlton]

what do you all do with your runner bean  haulms and roots when they have done their job

[shirlton]

[Roy Bham UK]

All above ground I compost, below ground I leave the roots and dig in with manure. I believe there is goodness in the roots. ;)

Edited to say...

I'm still harvesting good tender runner beans, I thought they would have finished by now, anyone else still pulling them? ???

[shirlton]

thanks roy

[MikeB]

The roots hold nitrogen nodules and if you follow the runners with brassica, it helps in the leaf development, which is quite handy on a cabbage etc.

[Mrs Ava]

Exactly the same as Roy.  And like you Roy, I am still picking them by the dinner plate full!  I am hoping they will go on a good while yet as there are loads of flowers on the plants.

[Barnowl]

Is it OK to use the same bed for runners two years in a row, and if so do I still compost the vines haulms but dig in the roots?

PS how do you pronounce "haulms"

[calendula]

as in horms

still picking mine, been lovely this year, but then they usually are but I think the october full moon will bring a frost so got 'til then I reckon  :)

[legendaryone]

Aye still picking mine and still with plenty of flowers on them. Even with the birds picking the flowers to death we have had a very good crop this year. :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

Runners have very few diseases, and some people do just have a permanent bed for them.

[Pegmumm]

The roots I left alone last year vined again this year. And we had freezes down to -10C for weeks at a time. Next year, I am just creating a permanent spot for them... and I'll sit back and wait for the beans to fly.

[Roy Bham UK]

I have to say that I planted an overspill of runner seedlings into last years bed of runners with the addition of kitchen waste under the soil and they fared well up to a point, like the last couple of weeks or so and are not now doing as well as the two new beds I set up this year. ???

So, maybe using previous years beds can reduce yield? ???

[Kepouros]

A properly prepared runner bean trench will improve steadily for several years and then go on producing at maximum efficiency.  My own trench was dug and prepared in 1977 and has never been used for any other purpose.  It produces top quality beans in vast quantities from late July to early November (frosts permitting) and the only attention it has is an annual top dressing of well rotted compost and an occasional dose of nettle or comfrey juice to supply potassium.  I use no other fertilizers whatever on it.

[shirlton]

Thats for me, Do a good job at the start and just sit back and watch. Thanks for all your ideas

[tim]

All clever ideas bite the dust!

Our permanent frame leans toward the picker & the sunshine. And the beans hang down straighter.

Didn't think, when I put the raised beds in earlier this year, that they were too close. My back doesn't bend that far. And if it has been raining..............!

[powerspade]

I cut off tops and compost them I then plant spring cabbage near to the roots so taking advantage of the nitrogen in the bean roots