Peas and beans

[ameno]

I'm growing loads.
Last year was 20 Spagna Bianco, 18 giant scarlet runner, and 18 black runner, plus 20 each of Lingua do Fuoco and a white seeded french bean I forget the name of. The french beans are planted two to a cane, as they are less vigorous and bushy so need less space.
Overall I got about 6.5kg of dry beans, which is enough to last us the year, more or less. The lions share of that was from the three runner bean types (the French beans gave maybe 750g at best).

[Containergardener]

Thank you ameno

[Penellype]

As there is only me to feed I grow a tripod of each of climbing french and runner beans, 2 seeds to each pole so 6 plants of each in all, but often they don't all germinate. I grow a few dwarf french beans early in the year in pots in the house.

For peas I have developed my own method over several years. I sow 50 seeds at a time at intervals of 1-2 weeks, 5 seeds to a 9cm pot in an unheated propagator indoors. Basically when the first lot germinate and go under lights I sow another batch, when the next batch germinates the first lot goes in the greenhouse and so on. 10 pots produces a 1m row which gives a dense hedge of plants if all the seeds germinate and allows for failures. As I have space both at home and at the allotment I sow 4 batches of Meteor, 4 of Hurst Greenshaft and 2 of Terrain making 10m of peas in all and I find this gives me as many peas as I can eat over the summer and some to freeze.

[Containergardener]

Thanks Pen. Sounds good, I will be sowing then planting out as I will be feeding the field mice and vole community otherwise

[ameno]

Thanks Pen. Sounds good, I will be sowing then planting out as I will be feeding the field mice and vole community otherwise

That's what I have to do, too, although for me the problem is not mice or voles, but bean fly larvae. The flies lay their eggs where they can smell bean or pea seeds, then the larvae eat the seed just as it begins to germinate. Starting them in pots then planting out avoids this problem, as the 2-3 week old seedlings are no longer appealing to them.

I sow mine in modular trays of 15, one seed per station for runners, 2 for French.
These are a lot smaller than the recommended pot size for beans, but I've never known it to do them any harm (at worst, they just need planting out a bit sooner, before they get too big), and it saves a lot of space and compost compared to doing bigger pots.

[Containergardener]

I've tried putting the broad beans on a damp towel in a container to germinate but seem to have got a bit of mould on. Maybe I should have just planted them instead.

[smallblueplanet]

I've tried putting the broad beans on a damp towel in a container to germinate but seem to have got a bit of mould on. Maybe I should have just planted them instead.

We always start ours like this, easy to plant out too.

[Containergardener]

Root trainers I have never used but always grow sweet pea flowers.
Runners I have always put into pots.Think I will pot them up and see and do my peas te same.

[smallblueplanet]

Root trainers I have never used but always grow sweet pea flowers.
Runners I have always put into pots.Think I will pot them up and see and do my peas te same.

We start all our dwarf/climbing/runner beans and peas in rootrainers, it's just easier all round. They were a bit pricey but they've lasted years.

[Containergardener]

I've just ordered some

[smallblueplanet]

I've just ordered some

They are bit bit fragile but still quite robust and do well even if a bit split. I held bits of ours together with black electrical tape.

[Containergardener]

We have lots of useful tape here, well OH does

[Containergardener]

Only some of my broad beans germinated, should I sow some more?
Should I plant these in a tub or bed, i've read you should put a collar round to protect from slugs?

[Jungle Jane]

Yes sow more even though I don’t know how many you have It’s good to have a dozen or so,then you can pick one or two from each plant,let the others grow….You can sow some direct in a pot or in the ground. I’ve not experienced a slug problem with broad beans,I wondered maybe I’ve been lucky but rhs say -
“Broad beans are too bitter to tempt slugs and pigeons, but they will almost always be afflicted by blackfly. ”

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-y...0by%20blackfly.

[Containergardener]

Perfect . Thanks.