We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info. Runner beans are one of the most popular vegetables to grow in your own back garden, because they're incredibly easy to maintain and yield a large amount of beans for a small plant.
Now that winter is behind us, you might be thinking about tidying up your garden, ready for the summer. If you decide to plant runner beans, when should you think about popping them in the soil?
Return the improved soil to the trench. Once your bean plants are hardened off, plant them into their final growing position, in the ground or in a large container, in a sunny, sheltered spot.
Plant one climbing bean plant at the base of each cane, and loosely tie their stems to the canes to get them started. When planting dwarf beans, space them 30cm 1ft apart.
If planting in a container, choose multi-purpose or loam-based compost. Runner beans need tall, sturdy supports to climb up. The traditional method is to grow them up a double row of bamboo canes 1. Space the canes 15cm 6in apart within each row and slope them inwards, then tie near the top to a horizontal cane, to form a sturdy A-frame.
If growing more than one double row, allow 1. Alternatively, create an X-frame by sloping the canes at a sharper angle so they cross in the middle. Tie them at the centre, and add a horizontal cane to link them all together and increase stability. An X-frame takes up more space, but picking is easier and cropping is usually better.
Again, use 1. Wigwams make an attractive feature in a border or veg plot and also work well when growing in containers. Remove the growing point once the plants reach the top of their support. This encourages side-shoots and prevents plants becoming top-heavy. Runner beans are thirsty plants and crop best when watered regularly, especially once they start to flower and form pods.
Regular and generous watering is particularly important for plants growing in containers, which dry out more quickly. Spread a thick mulch of well-rotted manure or mushroom compost over the soil in July to help hold in moisture. Add mulch after planting and water regularly and generously, ideally in the evenings.
Flower set is better in alkaline, chalky soil. If your soil is neutral or acidic, try applying lime. If this is a recurring problem and you live in a mild area, try growing varieties with some French bean parentage, which set pods more easily in warmer summers.
More on problems with runner bean flower set. Runner beans are one of the easiest vegetables to grow. However, a few pests and diseases can be problematic, one of the most common being black bean aphids.
We suggest you add a thick layer of mulch to the compost surface to hold in the moisture and keep your pot from being exposed to the sun on warmer days. Whichever variety of runner bean you wish to grow, there are plenty to choose from. There is one to choose for every need! Fill your pot with compost, making a 5cm deep hole for your seeds using a dibber. Firm down the compost and give your plant a water. You will find your beans germinate in about 7 days and grow remarkably fast.
We suggest you harden your beans off for around 9 days before potting them outside. Check your beans have fully rooted as an indicator of when to plant them on and ensure all frost risks have passed, normally around the end of May. If you chose not to sow them indoors, try doing it outdoors. Do this from May-July. Again sow them around 5cm deep with a 30cm space of each other in adjacent rows roughly 45cm apart from each other. Where space is limited, you can try planting Runner Beans against a wigwam structure - they make an eye-catching feature in your flower borders.
They are perfectly happy growing in containers too, so you can even harvest a tasty crop from your patio. If you only have a small space to work with, plant your runner beans on a wigwam structure. This can be done constructing three or more bamboo canes, they even add interest to mixed garden borders.
We suggest sowing a couple more seeds at the end of each row, as some seeds may have failed to germinate as well. You can harvest your runner beans from July when they reach 20cm long. For this reason we recommend that you use taller pots compared to the normal ones if you plan to keep the plants in the pots for much longer than a fortnight.
The inner cardboard tubes from toilet rolls are ideal for this purpose although you may need to start collecting these a couple of months before using them to have the correct number - friends and family always seem to willing to help in this task! We have put a reminder in the calendar near the top of this page as well as in our combined vegetable growing calendar.
The procedure is the same when using toilet roll cardboard inners. Your average seed tray can take about 15 tubes. In this way when the roots reach the bottom of the tube they can then spread out into the compost in the seed tray. Keep the compost moist and place the pot in a warmish place dark or light.
Keep a watch on the pots daily and immediately the seedlings appear roughly seven days after sowing indoors move the pots to a light and airy windowsill or a frost free greenhouse. The roots especially on newly sown runner bean plants develop extremely quickly and about one week after the seedling appears above the compost they will need to potted on into a larger container.
A 15cm to 20cm 6in to 8in wide pot is the correct size and the plants should be OK for a week or two longer. A week or so before the runner beans are to be planted outside in their final positions they will need to be hardened off.
The purpose of this is to acclimatise the plants to outside conditions. Before planting the hardened off beans in the last week of May you need to put up the supports 1. All manner of methods are used the commonest being:. A pyramid of runner beans. When using the cardboard tubes, plant the whole thing in the soil and firm gently around it.
The cardboard will soon rot down allowing the roots to expand near the surface. For the pots, turn out the the plant from the pot and plant it in the soil. Water well whichever method is used. Pickwick is the well established favourite and it rarely fails.
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