Possibly, what matters is that you have lots of flowers. Beans like compost at their roots, it helps keep them damp, not that that has been a problem for the last few weeks.
Very interesting post as my beans in the back (shade) are very much the same. However a single wigwam in the front (sunny) has half the leaves and the beans are easy to see and pick. The other difference is the amount of well rotted hoese manure in the back which is little in the front. So I'm not too sure which is the reason, or if there is some other reason. I use 8' canes with two lashed together for those in the ground as I found the support last year insufficient. I'm now investigating more robust structures, any information would be welcome.
Yorkshire, ex Italy and North East coast. Growing too old for it!
Very interesting post as my beans in the back (shade) are very much the same. However a single wigwam in the front (sunny) has half the leaves and the beans are easy to see and pick. The other difference is the amount of well rotted hoese manure in the back which is little in the front. So I'm not too sure which is the reason, or if there is some other reason. I use 8' canes with two lashed together for those in the ground as I found the support last year insufficient. I'm now investigating more robust structures, any information would be welcome.
I had to cut down a number of sycamore trees, about 15ft high, and the tall, straight, narrow trunks (if you can call them trunks) have proved useful for alternatives to bamboo canes. Admittedly, they are not perfectly straight, and side branches needed cutting off, but they did for a couple of years. After that, I cut them into small pieces with secateurs, and used them in place of bark chippings, round various plants.
I've been in this position before. It's far to wordy to reproduce here but, to cut the proverbial long story short, my runner bean set up is everlasting and is currently in its tenth year and counting. If diggersjo wants details, or Catdouch has the use of some 'open' soil at her parents' home, I'll gladly forward details via nickatipixnetdotcom so that either of you can make your own. Essentially, my unit is based on a pit, rather than a row, with 12 'STYX' made out of drain cleaning rods, each of which accommodates two plants. The pit is filled with the contents of a plastic bin, in which I save the kitchen bin's offerings all year, and is lined with a couple of inches of newspapers to preserve moisture and deter weeds from encroaching. Pic attached.
Don't worry - any beans you miss will appear at the end of the season when the foliage dies back - pick them, shell them, dry them, and use them in soup and stews through the winter...
I feel like I’ve lost control of my runner beans 🙈 I planted one plant per cane but they’ve grown so much that I can’t even see into the middle so I’m sure I’m missing lots of beans.
As they grew to the top of the cane I cut the tops off to stop them growing like Jack and the Beanstalk but we went away for a weekend at the end of June and just in a couple of days the beans went wild. Is this normal? There are lots of flowers and loads of bees doing their thing but I’m not getting loads of beans yet, I managed to find a handful today. Am I doing something wrong as I’m sure my parents runner beans didn’t look like this?
The other side …
Your beans look very happy to me. Plenty of flowers and foliage. I think "stopping" them earlier has probably made them bush lower down more than if they had been left alone. The rich diet they are growing in has given you lots of growth as well. Before long you will have so many runner beans you will not know what to do what them. Runner bean chutney is delicious, more so if you mince or finely chop the beans, after an initial cooking.
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After that, I cut them into small pieces with secateurs, and used them in place of bark chippings, round various plants.
Before long you will have so many runner beans you will not know what to do what them. Runner bean chutney is delicious, more so if you mince or finely chop the beans, after an initial cooking.