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

[Two_Sheds]

I've resurrected this thread, because this year I'm starting the national collection!
Dwarf:

• purple teepee
• Mr Brook's Blue
• Canadian Wonder
• yellow wax

Climbing:

• Cherokee Trail of Tears
• Blue Lake (poor germination this year)
• Cosse Violette
• Yin Yang (meant to be dwarf, but got to 4 ft last year
• Black Croatian
• Tiger
• Barlotta
• Corona d'Oro
• Marvel of Venice
• Flummery's mysterious beans

[HeyWayne]

I've resurrected this thread, because this year I'm starting the national collection!

• Flummery's mysterious beans

Be careful with those - she knows a couple of giants y'know!

[coomber]

growing french beans.........

Grew them for the first time last year, using Blue Lake. I started them off on the window sill then moved to a cold greenhouse when germinated, they were then planted out after last frost.
I grew 1 per cane in a wigwam with loads and loads of homemade compost. This seemed to work because I only ran out of my frozen supply 2 weeks ago!! I also gave pounds and pounds away.
Have done the same this year, if it ain't broke and all that!!

[Flummery]

Flummery's mysterious beans[/LIST]

I swapped them with Two Sheds for a cow!

[Flummery]

I'm growing -

Dwarf:
Borlotto
Negritos
Soldier

Climbing -
Goldfield
Kew Blue
Ruth Bible
Cherokee Trail of Tears
Borlotto Lingua de fuoco
Yin-yang
Bird's egg
Serbian Pole Bean
True Red Cranberry Pole Bean
Empress

Oh, and a butter bean which is said to be more of a runner bean in type so I'm growing it in the garden rather than at the lottie where everyone grows runners and I don't think anyone has Fench beans. Don't want the runners to cross and water down me seed stock!

You're still ahead in National Collection terms though. (But I've got a cow!)

[susieq100]

Interested to hear about the slug/snail problem with dwarf beans. If I put plastic on the ground around the bean plants to stop them trailing onto the soil would this help? I mean help stop the little b*ggers eating the beans, not aid their access to them. Grew purple teepee last year and snails got more than I did, but my own fault, planted them far too close together - eejit!

[peanut]

Hmmmmm, sadly, I guess I'd better sit this thread out.....see my thread on Cobra Bean germination or rather lack of it!!!

[Madasafish]

I always germinate mine in seed trays in the greenhouse. When I plant out in rows I plant 2 canes at each end of the row about 40cms apart . I then run string parallel to the row from one cane to the opposte end cane.. about 15-20cms above the ground. This discourages the woodpigeons and blackbirds..and collared doves... and magpies...

[chuffa]

Hi Shortie, The two i grow are climbing French beans and are grown like runner beans up poles. I start mine of in root-trainers with good seed compost, that are placed on the window sill at the beginning of April. Once they come through, i remove the cover to let more air to them. Once they are about 5" high i start to harden them off taking them out in the morning and bringing them in at night for 14 days. After that i leave them out in the cold frame at night and lift the base of the root-trainer off the ground, this helps to make more root growth.

Plant them out to their final bed, as long as the last frosts have been in your area. Plant to the same depth as the root trainers. Tie in the plants to get them climbing with soft twine. Water in well and mulch with spent hops. If strong winds are forecast, cover the poles with fleece to an hight of about 2 or 3ft. Pinch out when they reach the top.

The two types that i grow are Cobra and Blauhilde

[Two_Sheds]

Interested to hear about the slug/snail problem....If I put plastic on the ground around the bean plants to stop them trailing onto the soil would this help?

on the contrary. A plastic mulch creates a warm, moist, dark, private environment: slug heaven.

[allotmentlady]

I always germinate mine in seed trays in the greenhouse. When I plant out in rows I plant 2 canes at each end of the row about 40cms apart . I then run string parallel to the row from one cane to the opposte end cane.. about 15-20cms above the ground. This discourages the woodpigeons and blackbirds..and collared doves... and magpies...

Yes I do this too..........seems to work, I got some slug matting this year to stop the little bleeders, just dont work the electric windows on your car when you have handled it!!

[kfbtizzy]

Only advice I can offer this thread is that beans are very fussy about temprature to germinate one degree too low and they wont germinate, three to four degrees or more higher and they will germinate in about a week. I always grow mine in my polytunel, or before I had one, in my hut in compartmented seed trays. The only varieties I have grown are the ones Lidl's sell,one green, one yellow and I've always had a good crop,this year I'm trying a purple Italian variety. When harvesting for the feezer parboil for about a minute and a half with a touch of salt as this keeps their colour, drain and plunge into cold water,bag and freeze. The same can be done for runner beans.