Growing Wild beans!

[Jay-ell]

I don't think Soya is a climbing bean - more of a bush bean. Nothing to stop you planting at the base as ground cover though.

[rary]

Now, to be serious. I think a boring elder would be cheered up with the bright red flowers

I would not have put you down as a boring old person VC, but I am quite sure you will enjoy the flowers as well.
As for sowing wild beans I think its a great idea, And might try this itself ad I didn't get sowing my wild oats when I was younger, (OH wouldn't let me)

[mothhawk]

Nothing nutty about this idea - I have a bag of self saved runners I plan on scattering into the hawthorn hedge along the side of my plot to harvest at the end of the season.

I too love dried beans and though that growing beans and winter squash up the hedge will make use of the space and can be forgotten about till autumn. The hope is that the flowers will poke out of the hedge into the sun and therefore the beans and squash would more likely be near the front to harvest - although no doubt the biggest will hide in the most prickly part of the hedge just to watch me bleed as I harvest.

That's OK as long as you know when the hedge is likely to be trimmed. Is it one you keep trimmed? If not, and it's cut back in autumn you may lose the whole crop just when it's ripe and ready

[Jay-ell]

That's OK as long as you know when the hedge is likely to be trimmed. Is it one you keep trimmed? If not, and it's cut back in autumn you may lose the whole crop just when it's ripe and ready

It gets trimmed on the 31st of February without fail.

It's planted inside the fence on the plot so the council don't trim it and I can cut overly pointy bits with my secateurs if need be. It's been cutback this year and I can wait till after harvest to give it it's next hair cut.

[vixylix]

Nothing to lose VC - progress reports as always please. I'm currently planning hedging and all out of the box ideas will be considered

[emarisa28]

Sane idea. But you can freeze the beans/peas inside instead of drying, they are nicer. Last year i grew Neckargold beans, if you left them too long and missed that window, they were too 'beany' and stringy when cooked. So in the end i left them all to get over mature and then froze the beans inside. They were just like Cannellini beans. I never bother to dry Borlotti beans either, i just shell and freeze

[Bren In Pots]

I can't join in with this we have brick wall surrounding the garden so my beans will be grown up canes instead.

[veggiechicken]

Thinks..............wonder if you can grow beans up raspberry canes or sunflowers?

[Jay-ell]

How about planting them in the Jerusalem artichoke bed with oca or Chinese artichokes providing the ground cover

[veggiechicken]

I don't have a JA bed (don't like the after effects!) but you could try it!

[Jay-ell]

What - something you DON'T grow - that's a first

Don't have a bed - just a JA bath and there's rules on mixed bathing

I might pop a couple in, they'd probably stretch over from the hedge anyway.

Just don't want to put the JAs under too much pressure - after all they can be delicate and hard to grow (hey, I've managed to kill them off before)

[Snadger]

It gets trimmed on the 31st of February without fail.

It's planted inside the fence on the plot so the council don't trim it and I can cut overly pointy bits with my secateurs if need be. It's been cutback this year and I can wait till after harvest to give it it's next hair cut.

I would plant the seeds/plants well in front of the hedge in a trench full of muck.. Hedge bottoms are dry areas devoid of nutrients and Runner Beans like moisture and food!

[mothhawk]

Thinks..............wonder if you can grow beans up raspberry canes or sunflowers?

Sunflowers suck a lot of nutrients and moisture out of the soil. Would the beans be able to compete?

[veggiechicken]

Would it be any different to the 3 sisters (apart from it being corn, squash and beans)?

[Jay-ell]

I can't join in with this we have brick wall surrounding the garden so my beans will be grown up canes instead.

No problems - grow ivy up the wall and beans up the ivy