I don't know whether it's a hangover from my childhood [French beans - equally boak inducing] because my Mum liked to cook them for a few hours before serving, as was often the case in those days! Sprouts on in July, just to make sure....
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
...... not forgetting to line the pit/trench with 1-2 inches of newsprint first? Traps moisture nicely.
I tried the modern variant on that, but discovered that iPads don't retain the moisture well.
I think I'm a lone voice on the forum - I hate the things!
I agree. I don't hate electronic devices, but when I'm reading I want to have the magazine or book in my hands. I don't read newspapers enough to have a supply for bean pits. I do take a Kindle Paperwhite e-reader on holiday because it is so convenient and light. The downside is that most others seem to do the same, so there aren't the libraries in reception at hotels and apartments any more. I discovered a number of new authors through those libraries.
I think I'm a lone voice on the forum - I hate the things!
That's runner beans, as opposed to ipads? Or possibly both.
My runners have been producing sporadically for a month, but are only really getting going now. The weather having been all over the place, presumably.
I only usually grow 4 plants - more than enough to have a few seasonal meals but I do try not to produce a glut. This year I'm growing painted lady and 'home' beans (last year's seeds collected). I prefer to grow some beans for drying alongside the runners and french beans to eat fresh - especially borlotti and gigantes. Then if the french beans are indifferent or a bit tough, I let them 'go over' and harvest those as dried beans as well and end up with a nice mix for bean chillis through the winter months.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
My old next-door neighbour used to dig her bean trench in autumn as soon as she took the old plants out, put loads of newspaper in the bottom then chuck all her veggie peelings etc into it all winter and spring before putting the soil back on top in late May or early June to plant the new beans into. She always had a huge crop and didn't do a lot of watering.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
My father did the same, and grew them in the same trench every year for decades. I remember my sister and I regularly taking armfuls of them to offer around the senior citizen bungalows which were nearby.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
I don’t dig a trench now, not for years since I read in the GardeningMyths book that it makes no difference, Beans grown in the same trench since 1987. This year it got some lime, then a sprinkle of bone meal. Planted out in June have only watered once in that hot spell.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I agree. I don't hate electronic devices, but when I'm reading I want to have the magazine or book in my hands. I don't read newspapers enough to have a supply for bean pits. I do take a Kindle Paperwhite e-reader on holiday because it is so convenient and light. The downside is that most others seem to do the same, so there aren't the libraries in reception at hotels and apartments any more. I discovered a number of new authors through those libraries.
My runners have been producing sporadically for a month, but are only really getting going now. The weather having been all over the place, presumably.
I only usually grow 4 plants - more than enough to have a few seasonal meals but I do try not to produce a glut. This year I'm growing painted lady and 'home' beans (last year's seeds collected). I prefer to grow some beans for drying alongside the runners and french beans to eat fresh - especially borlotti and gigantes. Then if the french beans are indifferent or a bit tough, I let them 'go over' and harvest those as dried beans as well and end up with a nice mix for bean chillis through the winter months.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Beans grown in the same trench since 1987.
This year it got some lime, then a sprinkle of bone meal. Planted out in June have only watered once in that hot spell.