Grow Your Own Wants Your Advice On.... Growing French Beans

[Shortie]

Hi

Grow Your Own would like your advice on growing French Beans to go into the April issue.

What are your no-fail techniques, favourite varieties....?

Thanks
Shortie

[crichmond]

I always start mine off in the greenhouse and then plant out later, and if theres any sign of frost just cover with a piece of fleece pegged down either end.

[bluemoon]

Chit them in a seed tray between damp kitchen roll, placed in a plastic carrier-bag for no-fail germination, then bring them on in pots in the greenhouse and plant out as late as possible to avoid frosts. (I also chit my runner beans before I direct sow them)

[Alison]

Start them off in April in root trainers in a cold greenhouse. Pretty reliable at germination on the whole so long as they're kept damp and not too cold. Plant them out around a wigwam after the frosts have finished and train them around the canes (I only tend to grow the tall ones as they produce more beans for the area used). Biggest possible problem I've found is birds pecking the young stems. I find that a few extra short canes across the bed works to deter them although there is still the risk of slugs!

[Flummery]

I always soak the beans overnight before planting. Dried beans and peas take up a lots of water which they have to soak up from the compost otherwise. I like to sow them in modules or seed trays and plant them in the garden when they are big enough to withstand slug attack. Wherever you live, make sure they don't go out before the frosts are over. You can put them directly in the garden or allotment soil but do this in May. However, I find slug losses make this not worthwhile. This applied equally to climbing and bush beans, though as Alison says, you get a bigger crop from a small area with the climbing beans. They are also MUCH easier on your back which it comes to picking. Don't forget to try some varieties for drying. It's nice to use your own beans in a chilli or winter casserole.

[HeyWayne]

No idea what variety mine were (I'll have a look when I get home), but they were dwarf bush type.

I planted mine straight into a tray full of compost around May time, kept them in the mini-greenhouse until June and then planted them out. Covered them with net and they cropped away quite happily until the first frost.

Didn't really do anything special, just watered and picked.

As Flum said, it does make for back-breaking work when harvesting them, but I'm sure they'd be fine for the vertically challenged gardener.

[Flummery]

You've got further down to bend than the rest of us lad!

[Alison]

Another thing is that French beans are very easy to save seeds from as they don't seem to cross fertilise much. Simply don't pick some of the pods at the end of the season and let them dry out before harvesting the seeds and saving for next year. You do need to make sure they're properly dry though otherwise they will go mouldy.

[moggssue]

As Flum said, it does make for back-breaking work when harvesting them, but I'm sure they'd be fine for the vertically challenged gardener.

That'd be me then

I didnt use much in the way of support on my dwarfs last year and found some of them trailed on the ground, perfect slug food!! Even with the smaller varieties, use some kind of support to keep them away from the soil.

[JennieAtkinson]

I recommend always germinating and early growing in either root trainers or some kitchen roll holders (loo roll holders are a bit short) and then they can grow quite happily until the weather is perfect for transplanting. This is particularly important if you live in northern climes as a week can make a great difference and it is infuriating if you require to transplant as the roots are coming out of the bottom of your module or loo roll holder!

[rustylady]

I always start mine off in loo rolls. Have tried sowing direct, but lose too many (to slugs, mice, weather, etc) I have just about given up on dwarf beans, too. They tend to get eaten by anything except me. Best ones last year were Blue Lake, germinated in loo rolls in the cold greenhouse and planted onto the lottie mid-May - grown up wigwams of canes. No problems with slugs, but watch out for snail damage - those little so and so's climb!!!

[Madasafish]

First choose a warm dry summer unlike 2007 which was a diasaster (wet/slugs)...

all the rest is irrelevant imo
:-)

[chrissie the chippy]

no tips from me, not this year anyway

Would be nice to know which beans are ok to be dried and stored to use over winter......

[Herbgardener]

For me it has to be the Cobra.

Excellent taste and texture, good croppers and very forgiving to look after. Start off germinating on a damp cloth, transfer to 3" pots when big enough and grow on in the greenhouse until approx 12" tall. Transplant out to a bed or a growbag, water and then enjoy lots of beans. Tend to pick at about 5" for best flavour although they will grow to about 7". If possible pick just before cooking, although they will keep well in a fridge. Don't leave them on the plant too long or production will slow.

Continued cropping quite late on in the year in 2007. Had 8 plants in a standard growbag. next to a south facing fence with netting up against it, nip the tips out when they reach 5 - 6 feet high. Works for me !

[Alison]

I'm not that keen on Cobra, they're OK but nothing special to me (each to their own though, that's the beauty of so many types). Last year I grew Blauhide (sp?) which looked lovely in the flower border as they're a purple variety.