Allotments 4 All

 Our runner beans are in flower, but the plants are only about 2 foot high..normally they are beyond the top of the poles trying to get round one of the apple trees, if the wind is kind enough to blow them close to it,,,

we have not had rain for at least 3 weeks and temperatures with humidity
have been in the high 90 and into low 100. every one is wanting rain,,,,
qahtan

Mine aren't that minute, but they're nowhere near the top of the poles, and they're starting to flower as well. No doubt they'll get there.

Ours are at the top of their 6 foot canes  - at least, the ones on the left, if you look at the picture are, and we harvested a few beans off them for the first time today..the ones on the right were planted at the same time but not doing half as well, think the potatoes at their feet dont make for happy bedfellows  :-\

Picked our first ten runners yesterday

I've been picking mine since The end of June, plants that someone on the lottie gave me, my seed planted ones are well behind.     ;D

 We still have had no rain, promises, but nothing,  we are in the high 90F, on wed
with the humidity it felt like 118F,,, runners do not like that. I notice that my Lavender that I have had over 40 years in dying also the black currant bushes look as if they are on there last legs, watering does not work as well as rain....
Though Gerry did pick the two lovely tomatoes this morning....
qahtan

My runners have just reached the top of the canes and are flowering away. First beans are set and starting to swell.

the other day, i wanted to train the tops of the stems to interweave into the chicken wire that's grown on them, but found the flowers were falling off so readily  :'( :'( :'( much to my upset, thought it was best to stop touching them, and just let them get on with it... is this normal?

also, would i need to mist the flowers as i've read that this helps in their humidity levels.. not done this before in past yrs and have always had good yields...

      If the runner beans are not setting. Put a handful of lime into a watering can full of water, give the mix a very good stir then water along the row of beans. this normally improves flower set.

My " crusader" runnerbeans are pathetic    , I,ll be going back to " EMORMA" next year .

Quote from: woodypecks on July 25, 2011, 19:21:58
My " crusader" runnerbeans are pathetic    , I,ll be going back to " EMORMA" next year .

Had the first handful of lovely young beans off my Enorma today.  They are my favourite to grow

Is it a good idea to pinch the tops off once they reach the top of the canes?

I do Betty.   :D

Quote from: LesH on July 24, 2011, 19:38:15
      If the runner beans are not setting. Put a handful of lime into a watering can full of water, give the mix a very good stir then water along the row of beans. this normally improves flower set.

thanks for the tip, LesH - i'll buy some tomorrow!

Just picked my first three runner beans from my small garden area.......they were hiding.

My "Red Emperor" are well over the top of the sticks (never pinch them out) loads of flowers, we have had 3 meals from them and today picked 3 pond for the freezer!!! Lovely !!! ;)

 In UK you have had lots of rain which has helped a lot, we haven't had any for ages and ages.
how do you freeze your beans, when we did some a few years go we were not keen on the end results.

              tomatoes are coming on nicely, picking every other day.

                qahtan
temps,,81F / 24C   feels like 88F 29C, fri promise of
   84F/29C feels like 102F /39C  and so it contiues

My allotment  neighbour gave me a  large bagful of his runners  this afternoon.  Rather  huge and tough.....mine  are  only f lowering  at the moment,  but  I  was  able to give him a bag  of  plums  (Opal).  Plus his permission to  pick as much  as  I like while  he is away for a  week.

Qahtan - I freeze my runners cut into decent size chunks and found the best way is to cook from frozen in some butter/salt/garlic/lid on pan without defrosting or additional water - they taste lovely even after a year.

I am going to try and cook mine that way as the old frozen ones can be disappointing.Thanks for the tip.