Runner bean trench?

[ciaozzy]

Yo peeps

last season.. I just placed seed
in ground and seed was very obliging.. whats with the trench digging.. why cant I just repeat
process?  understand about soil nutition etc.... but dont understand the wisdom in trenching?  also Strawbs in those big pot thingies any good? any got one?  thinking of geting
30 plant one...

cHeErS

oZzY %)

[ciaozzy]

[cleo]

This is easy-digging a big trench is good for the soul-and runner beans love to have their feet damp and their heads in the sun.

The idea of a trench is to make sure they have a moist and fertile root run-is it necessary?,in my experience no but it is an excuse to have a bit of excersise ;D.

But to be a little more serious-digging organic matter deep down can be a good idea,but when I had heavy clay I saw a lot of folk thinking they were doing a good thing but were in reality just making a sump.

Stephan.

[tim]

Oh, never thought of that, Stephan! = Tim

[ciaozzy]

Yo Cleo


Thats me sold on the valuee of trenching.. if its good for me Runners thats all that counts...

Think sum peeps put wooly jumpers into trench?  can see value of easy root access... bit
like hydroponics in a funny kinda of way..

cHeErS

oZzY %)

[budgiebreeder]

Regarding the strawberry thingie Oz i got 1  last year in autumn and planted it up in order to get a crop this year.Prior to that i have grown them in a dustbin with holes cut out successfully.I don't have a lottie now so space is at a premium for me .If you do get one i suggest that you put a piece of pipeing with holes bored in down the centre before you plant it up for ease of watering.

[ciaozzy]

WOW BB

nice tip.. dustbin... briliant gonna give it a go..

cheers

OzzY

xx

[Beer_Belly]

Hi Oz - I dug a bean trench in the Autumn and have been filling it with organic matter since then. My plan is to plant some beans in the trench and the rest in normal ground. I'll then be able to see if there's a difference.

I'll keep you all informed.

-B_B-

[ciaozzy]

Well the sun is shining here andtoday is a good day to dig y trench and see what sort Of compost I have made... me just fire it all in the bin and see what shakes out... ph is still very good but wil add organic matter anyway.. also soil is very easy to dig..... love the feeing that spring is on its way

thanks peeps

Oz

xx

[Garden Manager]

Not much I can add to that really. So p'raps I wont.

some of you may know i grow in raised beds, so to me digging a trench seems a bit pointless - would endup with spare soil to cart away.

I do though add OM before sowing/planting, by diging a small shallow 'trench' and filling it with well rotted compost, which i recover with soil.  It improves the soil for the beans but is less work and can be done at the last minute.

This said before building the beds, I did use the trench method, as it is benefical in a traditional plot (especialy if the soil has had little done to it in the past).

[aob9]

New to this forum, I'm in Ireland and found this great forum last week. About the bean trench........I want to grow runner beans near a south facing hedgerow. You can see the challenges. The hedgerow makes the soil very dry in Summer and heavy rain tends to make the whole place sticky and heavy in the winter, so some sort of trench may be practical. What I don't understand is the practice of throwing in fresh kitchen waste as opposed composted material. In addition does anyone have an opinion on if it is wise to use a trench in these soil conditions or use some other method......Thanks in advance. :-\

[saddad]

My best bean run is always by the Hawthorn hedge... good heavy clay soil, used as a muck dump for about three years, ten years ago, never trench just get on with it. Only problem is getting at some of the beans if the hedge neds a trim...
;D

[bennettsleg]

Last year I did the whole "dig deep, shredded newspaper, gallons to soak paper, rotten manure, back-fill trench" thing, without a great yield.  But that may just be me...

This year I'll be digging more shallowly, using chicken pellet manure & compost and working in a water trench either side of the beans for swifter & more even watering.  see below diag.

ground level ----      beans      ----
water trough     \_/            \_/

and possibly some of those water-retention crystals to help me out.

[supersprout]

Sorry to bang on so ::) but our beans did well with a hefty mulch last year - we didn't water them except at planting out time :)

[Columbus]

Hi Ozzy, Hi all,   :)

last year I dug a trench and filled it with my best leaf mould and horse muck mix. After I`d thwarted mice, slugs, pheasants, pigeons and more slugs I got loads of beans. I was still harvesting in October.
I think that in last years hot summer the moisture retaining mix was a good thing.
This year I will redo the trench for beans and another for growing vertical cucumbers.

Col

[saddad]

What cuc variety were you going to use? I have to grow mine in a cold greenhouse but the old white ones are very prolific...

From three plants in 10 days at their peak!

[supersprout]

 :o and the variety saddad?

[cornykev]

The egg variety.   ;D ;D ;D

[supersprout]

 ::)

[cornykev]

Sprout they look like EGGS. :P :-* ;D ;D ;D

[Columbus]

Hi Ozzy, I don`t want to hijack your thread but he started it I was just minding me own bisnis  ;D Hi Dad, Hi all.

I`ve no idea what variety yet, I may have seeds left from last year which I got from a bargain shop and I`ve just been give some Melothrie seeds which is a pickling variety. After the slugs had demolished my baby plants they kindly left me one each of a bumpy skinned and a smooth skinned variety. So I had one for salads and one for pickling. But I had more crops than I could keep up with. The plants were in a plastic lined cold frame which prevents drying out with improved soil and I struggled to provide them with a supporting framework so this year I`m putting that in place first. Hence trenches and fences just like runner beans get.

Col