Runner beans pests
David504
Posts: 1
I am growing runner beans for the first time - the plants are doing well, survived early snail attacks, I have also had black aphids, but have seen most of them off.
I have had a lot of flowers but only a few beans. The other day I noticed a sprig of tiny little beans growing. The next day they were gone, and it was as though they had all been nipped off.
A lot of the places where flowers were look like this. I suspect the flowers have been setting but something is attacking them.
I have seen a lot of ladybirds and ladybird larvae (but I would have thought they were only doing good things), also ants (probably harvesting aphids). I think I have got rid of most of the aphids, with the help of ladybirds.
The beans that disappeard were about 2m off the ground (on bamboo canes), would slugs and snails make it up there?
Has anyone experienced this before? Any advice gratefully received!
Posts
It might be that the dry weather is preventing the flowers from 'setting' properly. Give the plants a thorough dialling at the roots and spray the flowers with the hose to raise the humidity.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I had problems with birds taking the flowers. I netted over the canes to stop the birds getting to them but now have problems accessing the beans because the netting has the plants tangled through it!
Can't win