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Runner bean pods disappearing

jackmoorejackmoore Posts: 4
in Fruit & veg
Any ideas what could be eating our runner bean pods? Seems very targeted to the pods as the leaves are ok. As an example, in the picture below this shoot was full of small pods and now only a couple remain!


Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Have you had strong winds over the past few days?  

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





  • jackmoorejackmoore Posts: 4
    Dovefromabove said:
    Have you had strong winds over the past few days?  

    At the weekend we did, but I wasn't able to find any pods on the ground.
  • war garden 572war garden 572 Posts: 664
    edited July 2023
    sounds like squirrels
  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,723
    It looks like poor pod set, pretty common with runner beans, the unfertilised beans just shrivel up and fall off.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited July 2023
    Yes, I agree with @Skandi … if the flowers weren’t fertilised the little beans shrivel and drop off. Poor fertilisation can be a problem in difficult  weather conditions, heavy rain, strong winds etc. 

    For this reason I now grow the variety ’Moonlight’ which carries some of the genes of French beans and is self-fertile and doesn’t need pollinating. The flavour and appearance are the same as traditional runner beans and it’s a heavy cropper. 

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





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