Update for anyone interested: I grew "Hestia" dwarf runner beans this year to see if they might be a solution to the windy garden problem. Of course, this summer we've had no wind to speak of, so ordinary runners would have been no problem...
I didn't like them much. However, the weather was decidedly abnormal so that although they grew well and flowered early, no beans set until September, and the flavour wasn't as good, in my opinion, as the "Scarlet Emperor" I'd grown before. Next year I'm trying "Moonlight", as recommended by @Dovefromabove, and will erect a stronger support.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
Liriodendron Rightly or wrongly, I've saved seed year after year, so that I no longer have a clue what varieties they include. I sow traysful from mid-March onward with varying degrees of success in terms of germination (because I've saved so much and can be liberal with them). Eventually I have enough plants to occupy my 12 styx @ two per 'stick' and plant any successful looking spares in between. We always have beans of some sort or another.....but not as scientific as Dove. Several hundred in stock for 2023!
I'm sorry Hestia didn't work for you but the weather wasn't the sort that beans like this year. Difficult in France to get beans to flower and set in hot summers. I often get a booster crop in autumn, if it rains, with Scarlet Emperor.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Very windy here too,south downs and sea breeze, but if you make permanent concreted in supports, how can you do crop rotation Hubby made Obelisks,and then pins them down with those metal poles you get from builder's merchants for attaching the orange/white netting barrier They are then moved each year.
That's a good idea, @Nanny Beach - thanks for the suggestion.
Yes, @Busy-Lizzie, I reckon I'd have liked Hestia better in a more "normal" year for weather. Perhaps it wasn't a fair test...
Once I've tried "Moonlight", @nick615, I'll decide if I want to save its seeds - I've done it with other veg (and loads of ornamentals) and it's clearly a good idea, if you've grown something you like and which works for you. I don't know if you've come across Irish Seed Savers? They're based here in Scariff, and collect, grow and sell seeds of many old and local varieties of veg and herbs, some of which I've tried - as well as maintaining an extensive orchard of old apple varieties, selling young trees suitable for the area.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
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I didn't like them much. However, the weather was decidedly abnormal so that although they grew well and flowered early, no beans set until September, and the flavour wasn't as good, in my opinion, as the "Scarlet Emperor" I'd grown before. Next year I'm trying "Moonlight", as recommended by @Dovefromabove, and will erect a stronger support.
Hubby made Obelisks,and then pins them down with those metal poles you get from builder's merchants for attaching the orange/white netting barrier
They are then moved each year.
Yes, @Busy-Lizzie, I reckon I'd have liked Hestia better in a more "normal" year for weather. Perhaps it wasn't a fair test...
Once I've tried "Moonlight", @nick615, I'll decide if I want to save its seeds - I've done it with other veg (and loads of ornamentals) and it's clearly a good idea, if you've grown something you like and which works for you. I don't know if you've come across Irish Seed Savers? They're based here in Scariff, and collect, grow and sell seeds of many old and local varieties of veg and herbs, some of which I've tried - as well as maintaining an extensive orchard of old apple varieties, selling young trees suitable for the area.