beans

[Salina]

I'm growing french beans and runner beans, one of them are dwarf.
question is, they are still quite spindly. do they need a lot of space or are they alright in pots? I have about 10 plants in a large window box and the rest are in pots ranging from smallish pots (for single plants) or large pots (for about 3 or 4 plants)

[la cebolla grande]

Both french and runners will do well in pots, but you really should use one of the varieties especially designed for container growing. Both french and particularly runners will get very big indeed - 8-10ft easily - if you have used a 'standard' variety.

They are also very 'hungry' plants, and need LOTS of organic matter and food, so make sure they are not exhausting your compost already.

LCG

[Cutecumber]

How big are your containers? Can you measure their height and width or is the capacity marked in litres? Which of the beans is the dwarf?

I ask, because whilst you can probably grow a dwarf french bean plant in a 5 litre pot (I did it once and it was OK), you are going to struggle to get a crop from a climbing runner bean. The climbers are big drinkers and eaters, the dwarf varieties are much less demanding, and runners eat and drink more than french, in both their forms. The climbers, obviously, need something to climb up - that can be a problem in a small pot, too.

[mrs potato head]

My son planted a runner bean in a pot at school, I'm feeding it with nettle tea every couple of weeks and its doing well. Unlike the Sugar Snaps and French Beans planted in the ground. Of which the first batch produced peas and the died!. The beans just withered.
I have planted out a second batch in hope of a late harvest.