Climbing beans in pots

[creechitup]

Hi all - i'm a complete newbie with a south facing roof terrace (no garden) and i'm trying to grow some veg in pots. For my climbing cobra beans, i planted them in 15 cm pots indoors and they've reached 40-60 cm already.

I'm thinking its a bit too soon (late march) to transplant them into their final pot outdoors? I still need to harden them off too i think.

I guess i might have started them too early, as they're getting very tall and spindly. But if i train them around a short pole now (so i can harden them off and also wait until warmer times), will i be able to retrain them in their final outdoor pot? I'm not sure what to do.

Finally, how many plants would one put into a 38cm/15 inch pot?

Thanks in advance!

[catgirl]

I think you probably did sow them too early, but never mind - you'll know for next year! Personally I have found that once climbing beans wrap themselves around something, it's almost impossible to get them to unwrap themselves again. But if you've got the space to keep them for another month then why not give it a go and see what happens?

I'm not sure about how many plants to put in one pot, but I'm sure somebody else will be along soon with all the answers!

[chilli_grower]

I am also growing cobra this year.

I will be sowing mine next weekend.

I always use a 10 litre pot per plant, which is roughly 10 inches in diameter...

[creechitup]

Thanks for the super fast replies! This forum never disappoints!

I have got space to keep them for a month, but surely they'll need staking before then? They're already arching like graceful ballerinas.

Might sow some more next weekend...

[Alison]

Thanks for the super fast replies! This forum never disappoints!

I have got space to keep them for a month, but surely they'll need staking before then? They're already arching like graceful ballerinas.

Might sow some more next weekend...

Yes, they'll need staking soon and will wind themselves round each other anyway so you can't really keep them separate. I'd leave sowing any more for a few weeks as they're pretty tender. I'll not be sowing until well into April, they grow fast as you've found out


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[chilli_grower]

I will actually wait 2 or 3 weeks from now to sow mine....

[chris]

Don't forget to harden them off before you bung them outside. You may want to start doing it in a week or two, or sooner if it's fine...


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[Potstubsdustbins]

These things grow very fast. I sow my runners third week of April and they will be 5 or 6 foot high by the end of May.

Potty

[Two_Sheds]

my climbing cobra beans, ... they've reached 40-60 cm already.... they're getting very tall and spindly.

Yes, weak & spindly due to lack of light, and because they're tender (cold weather stops them in their tracks and frost will kill them) they can't go outside until May, after the 7-10 day hardening off period
They are going to start tangling up with each other, so get some canes in their pots to control them a bit.

I won't be sowing my bean seed until early April