too late for bean trench?

[vicki]

Hi guys.
I've not been to the allotment for a while as I've been poorly with the flu, and I've not got round to doing my bean trench.....am I too late - shall I just plant them in the soil when its time or is it worth starting a trench now do you think

[Hans Mum]

dont know the 'proper' answer to this vicki but if its any consolation i only dug mine a week ago and put some rotted manure in the bottom and am now throwing in kitchen waste as & when. as beans dont go out until quite late here may/june thought i'd be ok unless one of you tells me otherwise

[supersprout]

Oodles of time, like HM say Start worrying in May!

[vicki]

brilliant! thanks for that - I'll get onto it right away!
will be doing wigwam supports so I'm guessing I dig a big square/round trench instead of the usual long one?

[Hazel at the Hill]

wot - like a moat?!

[Muddy Sarah]

wot - like a moat?!

"GET OFF MY BEANS!!!!!!!"

[madderbat]

We did ours a few days ago, put shredded newspaper in the bottom, well rotted on top and refilled with soil, about 14" deep. Hope it works.

I had a very poor crop of beans last year, but just put them in the soil and didn't water them enough.
Hoping for mega-beans this year (got to keep Bubblewrap in fuel!)

[Two_Sheds]

My beans were rubbish last year, but then so was everything else - due to moving house and not watering enough during the drought. Bean trenching helps to keep water in the soil: every little helps

[Alice]

Last year I grew my runner beans in a container 2x2x2. filled with compost from a growbag and manure. I made a wigwam in the container and planted 8 beans. We had all the beans we could eat and some for the freezer. I'll be growing them in the ground this year (kitchen garden underway) but the container method could be useful for anybody who wants beans in a small space. I put a stay round the wigwam and fastened it to a wall so that it couldn't blow over.

[rustylady]

Bean trench can be dug any time during winter/early spring. If you have well rotted compost or manure, put this in (fork in to mix). Top off with veggie peelings etc until about April. Cover with soil and leave to rot down. I've found that my beans do better if germinated in pots under cover and planted out when big enough to "look after themselves". I put some direct into the lottie last year and not one of them came up. Good job I had reserves in pots.

[NEWTO THE PLOT]

am giving the trench thing a try this year myself, got as far as laying cardboard on bottom and laying over kitchen scrapes all along it. hope to get manure on next week, but always start my beans in pots

[JennieAtkinson]

I dont normally start my trench off until April, as I'm only sowing the seeds in May and I grow them in roottrainers first, so its really end of May before they go into the ground. How deep should your trench/moat be? I think I may have dug down a bit too far last year! and wondered whether the roots actually made it!

[sewer rat]

Jennie, dig your trench about one spit deep (the depth of a spade - approx 12 inches) - this should be sufficient. For growing up wigwams dig your hole about 18" square and 12" deep. For growing up criss-crossed canes, you can dig one trench 12" deep and 18" wide or two narrower trenches - this year I shall mainly be cheating and using a mini-digger for my trenches!!

[*Feather*]

Last year I must have got about 10 runner beans in total out of about 20 plants. But I didn't really water them as much as I should have and I misread my Joy Larcom book, so instead of digging a trench and putting strawy manure in, I put straw!! I realised I'd misread it when I wondered what I was doing wrong and went back to the book!
I haven't prepared my trench this year yet and probably won't until the beginning of March. I'm still digging trying to get rid of the bindweed...

[vicki]

thanks guys! I shall make a start on it this weekend I think.
Please please please let the rain stay away!

can I ask how many canes is best to use for a wigwam? don't want to overcrowd it!