Advice please

[Dorothy rouse]

I thought I'd plant my runner beans and climbing French beans, after harvesting my first early potatoes Swift, I have already dug up some. Panted the bean seeds in module pots at home, but !! They are now growing well and I either pot them on into larger pots or dig up all my 'new potatoes' and try and store them or eat them 3 times a day, and plant the beans where I intended them to go!

Got my timing a bit wrong!

[rustylady]

How many beans have you got to plant out?

[Dorothy rouse]

About 10 of each, they are about 6 ins tall.

[Two_Sheds]

Are you really short of space?

(I'm wondering why you have to wait for the spuds ...)

[veggiechicken]

Have you put your bean sticks up yet?
20 beans don't take up a lot of space - a 8-10 foot row or 2-3 wigwams. If you can find space for a few wigwams elsewhere, you can leave your spuds. or dig up some of your spuds and put a wigwam up in their place.

[Dorothy rouse]

Yes I am short of space, and do have a LOT of potatoes, as that part of my plot is very poor ground, I am slowly trying to improve it.

Will dig up most of the Swift potatoes, and give some to friends.

Next year am going to erect a couple or raised beds on the poorest and stoniest part, and will not plant so many potatoes.

Was planning 2 wigwams.

Thanks

[rustylady]

I agree with VeggieChicken. A bean wigwam of canes doesn't take up much space (probably that taken up by two potato plants. I'm a bit short on space too, so have put up wigwams of five canes and planted two beans at the base of each cane.

[Two_Sheds]

do have a LOT of potatoes, as that part of my plot is very poor ground, I am slowly trying to improve it.

Potatoes don't improve the soil.


If anything, they deplete it, because they are quite greedy plants.

To improve your soil you need to be adding humus to it (well rotted manure, garden compost etc). A very quick way is "surface composting" (I often refer to it as chop n drop). Any weeds or green manures you have, chop them up and leave the bits on the soil as a mulch. It's a much quicker form of composting than the traditional heap, but you will have to adjust your eyes if you like a neat tidy patch.
Anyway, nature isn't neat & tidy

[Dorothy rouse]

By 'improving ' I mean trying to dig up all the Barbed wire,bricks, lumps of concrete, and other debris buried by the builders who prepared(kind of!) the allotments,

I covered with manure the first winter, and managed to get a reasonable potato crop last year, grew a Green manure, last autumn/ winter, added soil improver/ this year , planted all again this year with different types of potatoes, too many really, but they do grow! I'm thinking of constructing 2 large raised beds, for next year, it really is very stoney ground.

But I DO like your idea of instant type composting, so will definitely chuck my compost on there!

[Dorothy rouse]

First Earlies dug up, some given to neighbours, 2 Wigwams erected and both runner beans and climbing French beans planted, yesterday, and so far they look quite happy!