Major bean disaster!

[noobveg]

Hi all, new to the vine. I was attempting to grow dwarf beans for the first time and all was going well, I was putting them out a few sunny afternoons to get them hardened off as they were sown indoors, but just now I checked them and three of the plants have HUGE white patches, one of the leaves is nearly entirely white. The other has patches and looks really battered. They were not like that this morning and some of the other plants look absolutely fine. Did I try to harden off too soon or is this a rapid fungal thing? I was very shocked to see them like this.

[rustylady]

The picture on the left looks like sunscorch or windburn. The one on the right looks like mildew. Both of your plants look as if the compost is far too wet.

[noobveg]

The picture on the left looks like sunscorch or windburn. The one on the right looks like mildew. Both of your plants look as if the compost is far too wet.

Thankyou for your quick reply, 3 out of 7 plants are affected. They're in John Innes which I find looks sludgier than other composts when watered. I'd just watered them before I took them in, but obviously too much. A true disaster all round! It seemed like a nice warm day today with very little wind so I assumed it'd be fine It truly shocked me how bedraggled the poor things looked when only a few hours earlier they were fine! I will definitely be more careful on all fronts next time.

[rustylady]

I don't like John Innes - I find it very hard to keep evenly watered. I use multipurpose compost for just about everything.

What variety are your beans?

[noobveg]

I agree, I saw it was recommended on various forums but I have not been impressed so far. My beans are Hestia as I heard they were quite good for pots.

[SarzWix]

I suspect that it's just that the roots aren't quite developed enough to keep up with the transpiration caused by the combination of hot sun and a breeze. They can be a bit feeble to start with. I usually only put them out for a couple of hours the first few days.

The good news is that there's plenty of time to bring some more on if these don't perk up

[redser]

If you treat them right they'll probably outgrow those damaged leaves and be ok. Keep them till you see new healthy leaves developing and then start removing the battered looking ones one at a time. When hardening off, find a sheltered spot - sheltered from direct sunshine and wind. Experience is better teacher than reading words. Big lesson learned today, congrats

[noobveg]

Thanks guys, i'll be extra careful and see how they go. They really do seem like delicate little souls! If the battered and bruised ones look like they'll recover i'll definitely remove those leaves when healthy ones grow in. The newer growth doesn't look like it was affected so I have a wee bit of hope. If not i'll sow some more and take that as a lesson learnt

[redser]

Probably best to sow some more as insurance. Can't lose that way, still time for new beans

[kathyd]

I've managed to kill all my french beans so far, so embarking on a new planting spree this week - with much less water!! Good luck, it'll all be OK in the end!

[BUFFS]

when i had a similar problem,i was told to put the pots onto some newspaper,to draw the excess water off,and it did seem to work,and i didnt water those plants for ages afterwards and the beans put out new leaves and were planted out to give a good crop,all thanks to porous newspaper,i would never have thought to do that....