Amateur Gardening – 21 May 2019

20 AMATEUR GARDENING11 MAY 2019

with Lucy Chamberlain, AG’s fruit and veg expert

Lucyexplainshowtocultivatea quintessentialvegstaple

Fo cu s o n...Runner beans

Main

image:

Alamy

A

Nannualfeatureonanyveg

plot,theubiquitousrunner

beancanbesownnow,and

is utterlydeliciouswhenthe

podsarepickedat a youngage.The

pitfallsareeasytoavoidif youknowhow,

so let me divulge for a summer of beans!

TheFrenchconnection

Plantbreedershavedonegardeners

proudin recentyears.Whileolder

varietiesfloweredlatein thesummer,

moderntypesdevelopearlierblooms

duetoboffinsadjustingthebean’s

sensitivitytodaylength.

Droughtresistanceis improving,too.

Red-floweredvarietieswerenotoriously

shallow-rootedcomparedtotheirwhite-

floweredcousins,butbreeding has now

blurredtheboundaries.

Byfarthemostexcitingdevelopment

is thecrossingof runnerandFrenchbeans.

ThisBritish-ledbreedingprogramme

hasintroducedsomerealpositivesin

thepast 15 years(suchas‘Moonlight’

and‘Stardust’,bothwhite-flowered).

Attributessuchasimproveddrought

resistance,reducedpodstringinessand

betterpodsetin temperatureextremes

(dueprimarilytoself-fertileflowers)all

helpgardenersproducea better-quality

runner – and yes, they still taste of runners!

Plantingandearlycare

Awindysitewillripyoungleavesto

shreds,sochoosesomewheresheltered

(whichalsohelpstoattractpollinating

bees)orerectwindbreakmaterial,

plantingoutin mid-June.Allowingyour

plants to develop an extensive root

Choosea runnerbeanhybridsuchas‘RedRum’,‘Hestia’,

‘Moonlight’ and ‘Stardust’ for reduced stringiness

systemin a deep,moistsoilbefore

flowersbegintodevelopmid-summer

is keytosuccess(seethepanelbelow).

Addinga high-nitrogenliquidfeed

regularlyhelpstoboostyields,andmany

growersswearbyfrequentfoliar feeds

of seaweed fertiliser, too.

All photography TI Media, unless otherwise credited

Climbingvarietiesneed

strongsupportssuch

as hazel beanpoles

‘Firestorm’

Aself-fertilerunnerwith

Frenchbeanin itsbreeding.

ThisAGMwinnersetsbette

cropsin inclementandhotweather

thanstandardtypes,withplump

podsanda sweet flavour

‘Jackpot’

Thisrunner-French

beancrossis naturally

compact,soit’sidealfor

largetubs.High-yielding

fora dwarfvariety,dueto

itsextendedcropping season.

‘RedRum’

Red-flowered,high

yielding,andbearing

tender,stringlesspods.

Thisearly-maturing

benchmarkvarietyis

stillconsideredworthy of

an RHS AGM.

Lucy’s choice

Three must-try runners

A

ttons

amy

How to prepare for brilliant beans in three steps

2

Addorganicmatter:Well-rotted

farmyardmanureis ideal.It consists

ofbulkyorganicmatter,whichreduces

waterloggingonheavysoilsandmakes

lighttypesmoremoisture-retentive.It also

contains nitrogen for leaf and pod growth.

1

Digdeep:Inordertodevelopan

extensiverootsystem– which

helpswithdroughttolerance– your

runnersneedanopensoil.Breakup

anycompactionbydiggingoverthe

plot to a depth of at least 12in (30cm).

3

Waterwell:A matureplantcan

havea leafsurfaceareaof6½ft^2

(2m^2 ). Swellingpodsincreasemoisture

demandsfurther,soensureplantsare

wellwateredoncefloweringbegins,and

add moisture-retaining bark mulches.

Step

by step