Allotments 4 All

Two years ago I put runner beans in after filling a trench with newly cut (yes, newly cut) but wilted Comfrey then covering it all in earth. I had the most enormous crop ever with thousands of beans.

Last year I did it the proper way with manure and compost and had a rubbish crop. How much of this was due to the weather I dont know but this year I reverted back to the Comfrey and 'voila' my plants are going mad already zooming up the poles.



I have:

Polestar Runner Bean
Climbing Bean Italian Gold
Pea Bean
Borlotti Bean
Cosse Violette
Trail of Tears
Marvel of Venice
Marvel of Peru
Hyacinth Bean (worried it might be too cold)

What types do you have and do you have any tried and tested methods?

I grow 3 varieties of runner, 'Scarlet Emporer' 'White Lady' and 'Best of All', the latter type I have been saving my own seed for the last 4 years, they just seem to get better! perhaps acclimatising to my own plot? I use the 'trench full of muck(well rotted) method, and a comfrey mulch between the rows. ;)

Last year I didn't grow much cos I was away for most of the time, but my friends, gardening in different ways,  also reported a rubbish year for beans - they put it down to the extreme weather conditions we had? Certainly this was reflected in the prices in the shops.

This year I'm back to growing & I'll use my tried&tested method....trench Club sandwich of composted soft garden rubbish from previous season + soil in layers..

Using saved seeds - S.E., White Enorma, Painted Lady + Borlotti + french & climbing french beans....all sown & germinated & growing nicely atm in peat-pots in the cold g/house atm...praps planting out next weekend.

we did well last year with painted or pink lady can't remember and the seed is at the plot  ;D and barlottis, trench dug in autumn, filled with kitchen waste and shredded paper all winter, covered over with soil and planted into..mulched up with grass cuttings..
this year we're trying the same mixed with french climbing, yin/yang, blauhilde, blue lake, can't remember if they're the same, golden something and purple podded, as you can se, been working hard on the plot and my brain has melted  ;D

I have grown some and put two of the seedlings into large plastic pots from Morrisons (about 15" tall).  They are the short type of bean. Are they likely to do OK in these pots?.  Should I give them extra feed?

This year, I have dug two parallel trenches and lined them both with plenty of leaf mould for water retention (there is nothing better than leaf mould for this) I then filled the trenches nearly to the top with home made compost and then raked teh whole bed level.  Have no idea how they will do this year yet because they are still seedlings in the growhouse at home.

Quote from: floraldi on May 18, 2008, 17:02:09
I have grown some and put two of the seedlings into large plastic pots from Morrisons (about 15" tall).  They are the short type of bean. Are they likely to do OK in these pots?.  Should I give them extra feed?

we've got 4 turtle bean plants in a potayo pot, we did them last year, 1 to a morrison's pot and did well, not as much slug damage  :)

Strangely, I had one of my best years ever for climbing beans last year, growing Enorma, White Lady and Blauhilde (French Climber).  I just put a couple of bags of garden compost in to the trenches and over the top at planting time.

Is your Hyacinth bean a Lab Lab/Dolchios Stan? It was too cold for it here outside but put up a good show in the poly...  :-\

Sawf, I'm worried now: my beans are still in cells in the greenhouse and my comfrey is just poking through, and you're even further north than me. But you asked for tried and tested. The year before last I dug deep trenches the previous September and chucked all my kitchen waste in there until about Feb, same as manic, then planted the beans (runner, scarlet emperor) at the normal time. Result: exactly the same as the year before which had had no preparation at all. It wasn't a bad crop in either case but ever onward eh? Anyway thanks for the tip, I'll try that this year.

Geoff.