Beans and Herbs
       
  FIRST TIME GROWER    
       
  However large or small your garden, patio or balcony, give beans a try ! Every year I grow some Climbing Beans in large buckets. They need daily watering, but I am always rewarded with a great crop. Believe me, they want to feed you !
If you have time, prepare your patch the previous autumn with well rotted compost or manure - just a small amount forked in. If not, don’t worry. Plant your beans anyway. They need to be mainly in a sunny site, and as long as they get sufficient water throughout the season, they will always do their best for you, and they are not fussy growers. There are growing instructions on each of our seed packets. The following notes are extra tips. You may wish to see also our notes on crop rotation.

    
  CLIMBING BEANS AND DWARF BEANS
Never be tempted to sow seeds too early. Late is good. They soon catch up anyway. These are warm weather beans and will not tolerate frost. The trick is to start them off in pots and get them ready to transplant out in their final growing positions just as soon as there is no further likelihood of frost in your area. This generally means sowing singly in 7cm pots in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill during May. If starting off in a greenhouse, make sure that mice cannot dig the seeds up and eat them before they have had time to germinate. Cover the pots in a way that lets light and air in, but keeps mice out! Horticultural fleece is good. Once the second pair of leaves appear and there is a good root system, it is time to ‘harden off’ your plants. Put them outside during the day and bring them in at night for about four days/nights. Finally, transplant them out in their rows and tie lightly to tall canes (short canes for Dwarf beans). Water well.
Some varieties get too tall even for their tall canes. You can pinch out (cut off) the growing tip. This will encourage pod formation.
If you prefer to plant your climbing beans in a circle, rather than a row, erect a ’tepee’ with the canes tied together at the top.
If you are harvesting at the tender green bean stage, pick carefully using both hands. Pick often as this will encourage more beans to form.		    
       
 

A tip to avoid slug damage
Instead of 7cm pots, use 13cm pots and put a short cane in each. Grow the beans to the stage where they are starting to twist around the canes. Carefully transplant outside without disturbing the beans or the canes. Erect tall canes by the side of each bean plant and encourage the beans to move on next to the tall canes. Tie lightly. Water early in the morning. The plants will grow fast to above slug level.

If you are growing Climbing Beans, make sure they are well supported. The supporting canes or poles need to be strong and very firmly in the ground. It is important to think ahead about this because the crop can be very heavy just when the first autumn winds start.

If possible, keep beans well watered throughout the season. If there is a dry spell, it is a good idea to soak the ground round the roots and then mulch the ground, that is, cover the bean roots with grass clippings, for example, to keep the moisture in. The beans stay tender if this is done. This is especially true of Runner Beans, which can become dry, withered and curled if not given adequate water.

    
       
 

BROAD BEANS
Some Broad Beans are particularly suited to sowing in October / November for harvesting the following year. They grow a bit and then stay more or less the same throughout the winter. When spring comes they grow on again.
Super Aquadulce is an autumn-growing variety. Damage from blackfly is less apparent in autumn-grown Broad Beans. Other varieties can be sown in early spring in small pots first and then transplanted outside. If blackfly is a problem, pinch out (cut off) the growing tips of the plants as soon as the first few sets of beans have started to form at the bottom of the plant.

PEAS
Peas are usually sown directly into the ground in 15cm wide trenches. Sow 5cm deep. Put twigs in the ground for their tendrils to cling to. Black thread can be wound round the twigs to deter birds.
Peas that have round seeds are often hardier and sown earlier in the year than the wrinkled variety. If you have bought a tall variety of pea, you will need tall bushy twigs or pea netting for supports. Tie the plants in lightly with string. Water peas well, especially when the first pods are forming.

    
       
 
Some Definitions

Climbing French Beans = Pole Beans
 

Dwarf French Beans = Bush Beans

Mangetout or Sugar Snap
= Peas eaten at the whole pod stage


Green beans are sometimes referred to as snap beans. These are for eating at the tender green stage which is the way most UK gardeners intend to grow and eat their beans. If left for the bean seed to swell and then shelled and eaten (like Broad Beans usually are), these are flageolet beans. These are also sometimes called “shell” or “horticultural” beans. If left to dry on the plant, harvested at the end of the season, and stored for winter use, these are haricot beans. (Haricots verts are green or snap beans.) Tiny green beans for gourmets are filet or filo beans. Broad Beans are sometimes referred to as Fava Beans.