Thinking of French beans planting and support.

[donnakebab]

I will look into that when I get them outside. Our garden is pretty sheltered though. I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something to keep them secure.

[donnakebab]

So as an update the beans are rapidly approaching my height (except Dave of course). I'm starting to worry about getting them outside before they get too big with the potential for me to damage them in the process. When do you think would be the soonest I could do that?

Also, I've been thinking about stability. Would they be more stable if tied together in a wigwam formation?

And what's the difference between climbing and runner beans or are they the same thing?

[chris]

Blimey

When your last frost date? Have you started to harden them off, they might get wind burn otherwise- if they're inside, and you just dump them outside, the leaves will be too soft, and not used to gentle breezes, nor the fluctuation in temperature.

Are they in conservatory - I can tell from your early photo.. If so - id be opening the windows early, and shutting them at night (obviously if you go out take appropriate measures!!)

[chris]

French beans, can be climbers or dwarf- runner beans are different beans, but there are a few types of climbing beans..

Some old folks on my allotment site refer to runners as climbing beans, and the frenchies as kidney beans.

[Two_Sheds]

good old botanical (Latin) names take out the confusion:

phaseolus coccineus (runners)
phaseolus vulgaris (common/pole/green/kidney/borlotti/navy/haricot/French/string/snap/and-a-few-more ... bean)


pc prefers cooler damper weather. pv does better in hot dry weather

Runner beans, unlike French beans, are hypogeal: the cotyledons stay underground as the stem and true leaves emerge.
They also twist the 'other' way from most other beans, climbing clockwise source

[donnakebab]

Interesting!

Now I have a real problem. Hardening them off is going to take some doing as in taking them in and out of the conservatory. They are rapidly approaching the top of the 7ft canes and when they are outside for the day I'll need to secure them...especially looking at today's weather. They are likely to get damaged too.

Would leaving them in the conservatory be a ridiculous idea? I don't really want to but I know OH will consider me an extreme pain if I ask him to help with the moving in and out.

I never plant tender stuff out before the end of May / beginning of June so they still have 6 weeks of growing.

My brain is starting to devise a plan to keep them in the conservatory and creating a kind of living green room divider. We can make the house secure and still leave conservatory doors and windows open.

I'm going to ask HSL to define planting early in future. For people like me growing something for the first time. I didn't know they would grow so fast.