Dwarf types-what's the point?

[liis]

Hello all,
Was about to sow my peas yesterday but noticed that I had bought a dwarf variety by accident. Space is really precious in my garden so don't really see any point in growing dwarf varieties of anything (beans, peas). I think it makes more sense to grow upwards and hopefully (in my mind) get more crop per square metre. Am I wrong? Or are there benefits to dwarf ones?

[beeterforit]

It all depends on your height

[Guest]

Dwarf tend to have a shorter cropping period so you can get another lot in in the same season. Also I have found that dwarf seem to give more cold hardy varieties, but peeps can feel free to correct me.

[Dorothy rouse]

Think you get the dwarf French beans a bit earlier, and then you can probably sow another veg after, but they probably do take up more space, but are v delicious.

[bearded bloke]

I "under plant" my runners & climbers with dwarf varieties that are started a little earlier, two crops from the same patch

Dwarf are also a lot easier to shield from a chilling wind

[Dorothy rouse]

I "under plant" my runners & climbers with dwarf varieties that are started a little earlier, two crops from the same patch

Dwarf are also a lot easier to shield from a chilling wind

That's clever BB! Mine end up too much like a jungle to do that! But at least the Dwarf varieties don't blow down in strong winds.

[Valleyman]

I plant a line of mange tout, with a couple of lines of dwarf peas in front. This enables close planting, in a tight space, whilst allowing a lot of sun to get to all the plants.

This year I will also be growing dwarf French beans in front of my outdoor tomatoes. I also plant dwarf french beans in pretty much every patch of bare soil in the flower beds as they blend in particularly well and are nice and compact. And there is no such thing as too many French beans.

In the end dwarf varieties can be used to save space and make use of those patches below the taller plants.

[bearded bloke]

And there is no such thing as too many French beans.

Sounds like something Mrs.BB would say

[Nicos]

Depending on your plot size, you might not be able to cope with the shadow cast by the taller varieties??

[Valleyman]

Sounds like something Mrs.BB would say

I have a single solitary pack of last years crop left in the freezer and am saving them for a special occasion. I find they are the best crop to freeze. Maybe not to eat boiled, but roasted with olive oil and some slices of garlic and they remain excellent. A true winter favourite in our house when we are sick to the back teeth with leeks.

[bearded bloke]

Mrs.BB brought a silicone "steamer" at Malvern show a couple of years back, was intended for fish but makes a brilliant job of beans, from frozen (no added water) heat 90 seconds, stand 60seconds & heat for 60 seconds jobs a good un, they don't go soggy & retain all the colour

[muddled]

I keep a bag of assorted dwarf beans (yellow, purple, green and red blotchy ones) which I bung in any spare gap as I harvest other things.
I do this with assorted beetroots too.

I hate 'blank spots' where I've pulled a lettuce or whatever and my children and great nieces enjoy hunkering down to rummage for the colourful crops.

Dwarf peas I haven't tried on my allotment but at work (with the elderly) they are an excellent crop for containers. There is something very familiar and comforting about a group of ladies shelling peas for dinner. And my friend grows dwarf peas on her balcony....the howling wind up there in the gods would make short work of taller crops.

[skeggijon]

I find dwarf peas are a good first cropper, since they tend to be more cold hardy - already got my Tom Thumbs doing really well under fleece.
I also have some in one of the polytunnels that should be close to flowering soon

[Alison]

I don't really grow dwarfs much as I think the plan area they take up is not Bourne out by the amount of produce. However as already said they are really good for early or quick crops and I always grow a single row of peas, mange tout and French beans in the polytunnel. The first two are already in and will be cropping about a month before the main outdoor ones.

[Penellype]

Sometimes dwarf varieties can be better if you are growing in pots, or if (like me) you live on your own and can't eat a whole large cabbage or lettuce for example. I'd rather grow 2 small cabbages than one huge one.