beans and manure

[Doncasterpaul]

After planting out my runner beans, i realised i had quite a few left over and nowhere to plant them. and as i had a bit of spare well rotted manure and a spare bit of patio. i put two and two together and planted the beans in tubs on the patio, using the said manure. these are now 3 times bigger and look a lot more healthier then the ones i planted in the bean trench. Could this be the way forward or am i in a false sense of security??.
p.s i have no idea what type of runner beans they are as my dad grew them and has lost the packet etc.

[bario1]

Could be the medium, or could be something else - position for example - is the patio sheltered and sunny?

[Doncasterpaul]

they get the same sun and open to the elements. pretty much the same as the ones in the bean trench.
i am guessing it is the manure and the fact that it holds water better than in the ground

[Snoop Puss]

If my experience is anything to go by, the plants will look amazing and grow very vigorously, but bean production will be low. Obviously, I hope your experience is different...

[Mr Bones]

Could be the high nitrogen content of the manure causing a growth spurt but as Snoops says the plants can grow leaf at the expense of producing beans. When the beans have finished plant up again with brassicas, chard or similar, they should do well.

[Jay-ell]

Beans like nitrogen. If they are in a low nitrogen soil they'll divert energy into producing sugars to feed the symbiotic bacteria in the soil (if it's there) to lock nitrogen for them. If the nitrogen is there then they won't need to divert sugars and use them resources themselves.


Maybee they seem healthier because they're not feeding an army of nitrogen fixing bacteria and have more sugars for growth. I have heard that planting beans in soil with high nitrogen will lead to a lot of leaf growth but few beans but if this is true why do gardeners every year make a bean trench with leafy high nitrogen materials?


The nitrogen beans absorb from the soil or fix from the atmosphere is used up in leaf production but also in setting the beans which are high in protein. It could be the case that they use up the nitrogen from the soil and, when it comes time to set beans, no longer have access to enough soil based nitrogen and as it's late in the season are unable to develop the root nodules full of helpful nitrogen fixing bacteria. You might need to supplement their nitrogen levels later on in the season.

Be interested to see how they yield.

[Doncasterpaul]

many thanks everyone, will keep you all updated

[Potstubsdustbins]

Jay-ell funny you should say that.

Because I grow in pots/buckets I feed with Miracle Grow which is very high nitrogen with an occasional feed of tomorite when the beans start to form. The reason being that years ago an old gardener told me beans love nitrogen.

Must be doing something right as I always get a decent crop, still have two portions left from last year.

[rary]

why do gardeners every year make a bean trench with leafy high nitrogen materials?

Interesting Jay-ell I was told I should fill a trench with kitchen waste over the winter to hold the water as peas and beans don't require high nitrogen at the roots, actually I was also told to throw some tin cans into the trench as well as they will fill with water and by the end of the season they will have rotted away

[veggiechicken]

I was also told to throw some tin cans into the trench as well as they will fill with water and by the end of the season they will have rotted away

They were having you on! That's how you grow tinned peas.

[rary]

They were having you on! That's how you grow tinned peas.

Naw that doesn't work I tried putting full cans in I even removed the lids from some but nothing grew

[Mikey]

Last year I had an open bean trench and a row of beans that were planted within a couple of metres of the compost bin but straight into the ground. The trench had more leaf and resisted attack from slug but less beans, the yield from no trench was higher.

It's only a one year trial so far but, maybe the trench isn't as productive.