Runner bean help!

iwannanicerlife

I am a total gardening novice and have never grown anything, desperately need some advice!

I have been given some runner bean plants, I am currently "hardening" these off in the garden during the day as instructed & bringing them indoors at night and they are approximately 4 inches high.

My question is, what do I do with them now?! I was hoping to plant them directly into growbags on my patio (which has a trelis - I was thinking they could grow around that) but I've just had a look online and can't find anything that says they are suitable for growbags. Do I have to put them into the ground? How? Is now the right time? I really have no clue as to my next step & would welcome some advice. Thanks.

WestonDave

I don't think they are particularly deep rooted so it may well be worth a go putting them in grow bags as long as you don't put them too close together, and maybe give them a feed with some general plant food/fertiliser from time to time to supplement what is in the grow bag.

Jack's_mummy

I'm not sure how happy they would be in a growbag to be honest. they like alot of water and get very tall and would be unstable in one. They will grow in a fairly bug pot though with some canes in a wigwam. Don't plant them out yet though. There are still plenty of frosty mornings that could hit and that will shrivel your plants. Mine don't go outside until May up here in Yorkshire.

RHYSDAD

iwannanicerlife wrote: »

I am a total gardening novice and have never grown anything, desperately need some advice!

I have been given some runner bean plants, I am currently "hardening" these off in the garden during the day as instructed & bringing them indoors at night and they are approximately 4 inches high.

My question is, what do I do with them now?! I was hoping to plant them directly into growbags on my patio (which has a trelis - I was thinking they could grow around that) but I've just had a look online and can't find anything that says they are suitable for growbags. Do I have to put them into the ground? How? Is now the right time? I really have no clue as to my next step & would welcome some advice. Thanks.

Well i grew Scarlet Emperor in 35L grow bags last year and i had very good results TBH. I grew 5 plants in each bag and had very good yield from them although maybe not as much as from a well manured bean trench. Admittedly the cane supports did tend to flop about a bit but i had very good yields all the same. The only problem i found was that the strong wind sheared a lot of the blooms off before they had time to 'pod' properly so i would have had even better yields than i did anyway (and that would have been a problem whether in a bag or in the soil). I was so pleased i'm doing it that way again this year with Wisley Magic. I would recommend this way to save space and your idea about the trellis seems an excellent one, much sturdier support. I wouldn't even contemplate planting them (young plants) out though until at least mid May. I fed once a week with weak dilute tomato feed.

I say go for it!!

tobit

Remember that scarlet runners came to England from the Med in Tudor times - because of their pretty scarlet flowers! So, yes, they'll do fine on your patio in grow bags - but don't let them get frosted. Plant them outside only when night frosts are over, which is around mid-May in the south, and mid-June in the north. So, if you have a disaster with these plants, there's still plenty of time to grow some more.

Keep the grow bags watered well, and feed the plants, and try to have them in full sun but shelter them from the wind. A trellis against the wall will be great and the bean plants should grow up to a good six feet high. Also, once the plants are flowering, spray them gently with water in the evening to help set the pods. Then get out the patio chairs, pour yourself something nice, and dream about young, fresh beans ...

frivolous_fay

Eek, my beans look like triffids already! I have to keep them inside til MAY?!

I'm growing dwarf runners on the patio - I have a 'bean growing bag' from Wilko... just a shallow squarish bag with a wire spiral for them to climb.

ShauntheSheep

I really don't want to put you off, but I think you're way ahead of the season. I shan't be sowing any bean seed until the beginning of May because they are tender and grow very quickly once the weather is warm enough.

frivolous_fay

ShauntheSheep wrote: »

I really don't want to put you off, but I think you're way ahead of the season. I shan't be sowing any bean seed until the beginning of May because they are tender and grow very quickly once the weather is warm enough.

O look, yeah the little writing on the packet says sow in April
I think I was just in the mood to plant some seeds and didn't bother checking
They can take their chances on the patio soon, there's time for a backup batch

wallbash

Why is anyone , even thinking about runner beans yet . One frost and they die .

As ShauntheSheep says open the packet in early May.

Ps I might dump the runner beans this year for climbing french beans.

frivolous_fay

Well we're not all seasoned gardeners and we don't all read the instructions

gazza975526570

wallbash wrote: »

Ps I might dump the runner beans this year for climbing french beans.

Really? I think Runner Beans are one of the best and easiest veg to grow