runner beans - I pinched them out as they grew too fast....

Posts

• Pete.8 Posts: 11,340

  April 2021

  So long as there are some leaves below where you pinched it out, side shoots will grow from them.
  When they do, you could select the strongest side shoot and remove the rest.
  That will give you a new single shoot to train up whatever it is climbing on.
  I sometimes snap the top growth when I plant them out and that's what I do.
  
  If you leave them as they are, you'll get side shoots from each leaf joint which may produce a quite entangled plant. It will still produce beans though

  
  Billericay - Essex
  
  Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
  Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

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• Nanny Beach Posts: 8,719

  April 2021

  You mean you sowed them too early!!

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• carolyndevos Posts: 4

  April 2021

  thanks Pete.
  The ones I pinched out have now produced a central shoot and growing well.
  The pieces I punched out rooted in water and are now planted,  also thriving!
  
  yes Nancy WAY too early! I am new to this, took allotment late may last year. Learning! 

  
  

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• annabenk Posts: 4

  April 2021

  I'm very new to this and was wondering if runner beans are OK to grow in pots or should I put them in a planter? I've never grown them before so I'm unsure how much room I need for them.

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• Dovefromabove Posts: 88,147

  April 2021

  Hi @annacoppenhall and welcome 😊 
  They really need a fair bit of space for their roots and a lot of moisture. They’re best off planted in the ground if at all possible. If not a large planter with plenty of depth is the best alternative. 

  😊 
  

  However, just a word of warning ... it’s too soon to plant them out yet ... the frosts will kill them 

  
  Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
  
  
  
  
  
  

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• annabenk Posts: 4

  April 2021

  @Dovefromabove thankyou. They're currently in my greenhouse in pots but I saw a root coming through the bottom so I will put them in a bigger pot until its warmer. My husband made me some large planters so I will rethink my ideas and put them in thete when it warms up.
  Thankyou so much for the advice 😊

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• carolyndevos Posts: 4

  April 2021 edited April 2021

  @Dovefromabove @annacoppenhall am new too.  Someone on allotment said to dig a shallow trench in ground, cover with cardboard, return earth on top of cardboard, build up surface with soil, manure and compost to plant. The trench acts as a reservoir keeping roots moist.  

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• Dovefromabove Posts: 88,147

  April 2021

  Mine go in the ground ... I’ll be planting them out at the end of May/early June🤞  I’ve not sown them yet, doing that this week ... if I do it too early I run out of room and they need beanpoles while they’re still indoors 😂 

  
  Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
  
  
  
  
  
  

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• Dovefromabove Posts: 88,147

  April 2021 edited April 2021

  And welcome to you too @carolyndevos 😊 
  
  Thats a very good tip. We grow ours around a teepee of poles so in the winter we dig a round pit, line it with newspaper and cardboard and fill it over the winter with all our cabbage leaves, potato peelings, tea bags , manure etc.   Then we fill it up with water leaving the hose trickling for an hour or more, and then cover it over with the earth from the pit. Then we erect a teepee of beanpoles and plant our bean plants around the poles. We get fantastic crops. 😊 

  
  Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
  
  
  
  
  
  

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• carolyndevos Posts: 4

  April 2021

  @Dovefromabove that sounds great! I have bought a willow tower so will head over today and do the same - ready for planting when this coldness goes away! Am loving learning, very keen on no-dig as the soil is heavy wet clay and I am a lazy gardener 😂

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