Dwarf French beans

[MillieBee]

they are taking too blimmin long. They've done NOTHING with themselves for a whole month, am considering grubbing them up and sticking my pumpkins in there instead! Are they supposed to take donkeys? Or should I go away and learn some patience?*


*unlikely....

[veggiechicken]

Did you sow seeds that haven't germinated or plant seedlings that haven't grown or flowered?

............and yes, you need patience.

[MillieBee]

How patient......seeds germinated fairly quickly, and quite well, however they have never put on more than the first two leaves and have been that way (the ones that weren't eaten by Mr Slime) for almost three weeks now. They went in the same time as the ones I crammed in a planter in my garden (not wanting to waste the last few seeds), which have 5-6 leaves each now. Go figure.....
they better be worth the space I am giving them, if you're in my plot you earn your keep!

I might move them. Perhaps they may prefer a heavier soil, not the flimsy compost in their current bed?

[Snadger]

I have no dwarf Frenchies this year as I sowed two different types neither of which germinated.

Luckily I had sown two lots of climbing French beans, one lot did germinate (tuther didn't) so I have a more sparsely than intended wigwm of bean plants.

[veggiechicken]

Plant your pumpkins between the beans?
I'm growing DFBs with the courgettes.

[Scarlet]

It's been really dry here....mine are slow too but with the rain today I think you will see some serious growth in the next few days.

[Scarlet]

I always have early beans I read once Snadger put a frame in the gable end of his greenhouse - that's what I do now. The take up very little space.

[veggiechicken]

I'll be picking mine in the next few days - all the rain today with give them a boost.
I sowed some more last week (modules in GH) and will be sowing more in a couple of weeks.

[Small pumpkin]

Mine were sown in March. They’ve only just started producing & they are in the polytunnel. So yeah patients

[Soupmaker]

My dwarf French beans have been very slow this year. Planted in the same veg trug As my dwarf runner beans which are being very prolific with flowers galore, should have a good harvest. Just not the right year for the French!

[bario1]

Mine are looking ok, noticed a lot of flower buds on them this morning!

[MillieBee]

hmmph well alright they can stay for now, but I want to see some proper progress by the time I get back from my hols or they are OUT!

[bario1]

Mine were sown on May 20th in a mushroom tub, and planted out about a month later.

[Penellype]

I find dwarf french beans very temperamental. Sometimes they are fine, sometimes they germinate "upside down" with roots sticking up out of the compost. Sometimes the 2 halves of the seed come up as the first 2 leaves and then nothing else happens and eventually they keel over and die. I've tried pre-germinating them by soaking in water and find this tends to make things worse.

So, if your 2 leaves are the oval shaped halves of the seeds and you haven't got any true leaves, I would sow some more.

[bario1]

Yes I get these 'duds' as well, probably about 20-30%. I've tried waiting for them, but they don't move, it's like they don't have a growing tip. I've posted about this before, and everyone seemed to think they'd been attacked by slugs, but they were on a hanging (slug proof) shelf!