pinching out runner bean tip?

[Bren In Pots]

Plant something to attract the bees.

[ckfe]

Plant something to attract the bees.

what's the best thing to plant?

[OllieMartin]

Can you not manually pollinate them?

[Bren In Pots]

Had a look on line and came up with this site with a list of plants to attract bees.

click here

I lost lots of flowers early on and after asking here on the vine most put it down to the hot weather we'd had, but I'm still loosing flowers so maybe next year I ought to put more thought into attract bees.

[Lottieval]

I always plant a few sweet peas in with the beans, this encourages bees, but do make sure that if you let the sweet peas develop pods that you don't eat 'em.

[Two_Sheds]

Plant something to attract the bees.

what's the best thing to plant?

I have loads of bees. I try to have something in flower for them nearly all year round, not just when I need them to pollinate my beans. (these were favourites this year with the bees)


Chives (I let every other one go to flower)
Coriander (I let it flower and self-seed around the plot)
Comfrey
Brassicas (I let the bees have a feed before I compost the plants)
Dandelions (they're there anyway! but i don't let them seed)

[pottymarigold]

How?

I am brand new to growing my own. I sowed runner beans in toilet roll inners about 2 weeks ago but no signs of germination yet. How long do they normally take? Should I start again or is it too late? Also, more relevant to this thread, how do you 'pinch out the tips'? I have heard this a lot but does it just mean something like tearing off the top few leaves or something? Like I said I am brand new to this so sorry for my stupidity!

[rustylady]

Hi Pottymarigold. Welcome to the Vine. Where are you keeping your runner beans? They can take a while to show, mine took over a week from pre-soaked and chitted seeds. Regarding pinching out the tips, you do this when the beans reach the top of the canes, and no you don't tear off the leaves you cut through the stem just above a pair of leaves.

You don't say whereabouts you are, and this can affect advice given. Could you add your location to your profile please, then it will show up on your posts.

[pottymarigold]

Hi rustylady. I am in Norfolk UK. (East Coast). I was keeping them in my conservatory but after a week and a half i moved them into a heated propagator after someone said it would speed up the process. They were not pre-soaked but the borlotti beans were.

When pinching out, is it the actual main stem you cut or the side shoots? I have heard you can eat the tips so does that include the little bit of stem or just the leafy bits?

Thanks for replying! Want to learn as much as poss and as fast as poss!

[Two_Sheds]

I am in Norfolk UK. (East Coast)

Norfolk n good, eh?

When pinching out, is it the actual main stem you cut

yes. This forces the plant to produce more side shoots, so you get more flowers & more beans

I have heard you can eat the tips

I've never heard that. Are you sure? (maybe you're thinking of broad bean tops?)

[Thelma Sanders]

my Dad taught me to pinch them out when halfway up the poles, you get more growth from there - so it's where you can reach it rather than at the top of the poles, where I can't

[pottymarigold]

It might have been the broad beans I was thinking of as i have been reading a lot about them too as am growing them aswell! So you pinch out broad beans and runner beans by cutting the stem.

Thanks Thelma. I have heard that the variety i have can grow up to 3 metres and I'm a little shortie! So I will cut the stem at the point I can reach to. Thanks for all your help!

[Two_Sheds]

So you pinch out broad beans and runner beans by cutting the stem.

I just use my fingernails: make sure you cut just above a leaf joint. If you cut a section of stem, leaving a stump, rot will set in

You pinch broadies out for a different reason: they don't grow very tall, but blackfly will descend on them overnight. Pinching out the (soft, tasty) tops will put them off a bit

[pottymarigold]

Ok, so the stem is fairly soft is it? Would about a cm above the leaves be ok?

Sorry, I know these are rediculously simple questions but as a beginner you hear loads of terms but no proper descriptions of what they mean. I don't have any friends or family that know anything about gardening either!

I'm growing dwarf broad beans (The Sutton). How tall should it be when I pinch that off? Cheers guys.

[rustylady]

I would leave your beans alone for now. How long have they been in, and do you have any flowers yet?