too soon for runners

I remembered I had a B+Q voucher for £10 so, as I was in town today, I ventured up there to waste it. Generally I find all their stuff a bit expensive but I need some more seed compost and a bag of sharp sand.

Anyway, looking round the plant section I noticed they had lots of good sized runner bean plants in cells ready for planting out. I don't know about people further south but if you plant out runner beans this early up here you are in for certain failure. Mine never go out before the end of May so why on earth are they selling them to unsuspecting would-be growers?

It's not going to encourage people to grow their own if their first attempts are doomed to failure through no fault of their own.

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Permalink Reply by Flighty on April 11, 2012 at 22:38

That's all too typical, and I bet that they were expensive as well.

Here in London there were two consecutive hard frosts in mid May in the last year or two which killed off plenty of plants in gardens and on allotments including runner beans. Late May or early June is the time to plant them out, or sow them.

They sell them now because all they care about is making money.

I entirely agree with your last sentence.

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Permalink Reply by Fred Hogg on April 12, 2012 at 5:25

I lost my first sowing last year, to the late May frost, (the plants had been in 3 days) shall not be sowing indoors till the end of this month and then it will be a case of space permiting. It would be certain failure to plant out now, even here at "The Centre Of The Universe". There are plenty of other things, to be getting on with this month, If you were to get away with an early sowing, it just means the freezer gets stuffed earlier.

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Permalink Reply by Damo on April 12, 2012 at 17:28

I noticed the DIY chains doing this last year with no advice on when to plant. I dread to think how many would be veg growers have been put off by failed crops.

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Permalink Reply by Debbie on April 12, 2012 at 19:24

I saw some down here last week and thought the same. Never sow beans until the lilac is in flower. Unless you have a polytunnel, of course.

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Shirley on April 14, 2012 at 9:26

Had our first order chase for Sweetcorn this week - we haven't even sown!

I'm sorry, but its a combination of the magazines being full of information for the month ahead of when they are published and the likes of this forum and others where people 'egg each other on' to get ahead.

So well done Colin for taking the sensible approach!

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Permalink Reply by Shaun Nicholson on April 15, 2012 at 22:38

My first post...just joined...so be gentle with me :-)

New to veg growing..and gardening...I don't even like cutting the grass. So, much amusement in my family when I started taking an interest in growing veg! My teenage daughter jokes that I am having a [early] mid-life crisis but instead of buying a sports car I am taking to growing veg!

Decided to join this site purely so I could comment on the above thread whilst looking for tips about my runners! "unsuspecting would-be growers" that would be me then! I've done exactly this and being an over eager novice bought some runner bean plugs a couple of weeks ago (I am starting slowly by container gardening...an because I didn't have time to get the garden sorted for a veg patch...but already its getting a bit out of hand!). The runner beans are now a couple of feet tall and growing rapidly indoors and I have now realised I have jumped the gun and won't be able to plant them out for a while by which time they will be huge and tricky, if not impossible, to replant. I think I might keep nipping the growing tips of these out and keep them as bushy dwarf types in the hope that planting out will be easier (will that work?) (time to get *more* pots) and get some more in a few weeks to grow up my wigwam (yes I have it all setup and ready).

Any suggestions appreciated.

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Permalink Reply by Colin Robinson on April 15, 2012 at 22:59

Hi Shaun, and welcome to the crazy world of veg growing. You can grow runners in a large container and build a wigwam of canes for them to climb up. They do like a good rich compost so if you can get some manure to bung in the bottom that would help. With a bit of luck you'll get an extra early crop but I'd hold off for a few weeks before buying any more.

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Permalink Reply by Donna C on April 16, 2012 at 13:03

Hi Shaun, and welcome!

In my beginner eagerness I sowed French & runners indoors in February!!! Luckily only a couple of seeds of each!! They went off like rockets, and were about a foot tall after a week. I threw out the runners at the weekend but have kept the French beans going indoors because they have flowered and are now producing beans!!!

I did resow at the weekend for my outdoor ones though but won't plant them outside until at least middle of May.

At least i now know better for next year. I think I just thought everything had to be sown around Feb/March!!!

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Permalink Reply by Fred Hogg on April 17, 2012 at 1:07

Your sowing runners to early, for your part of the country, I am near London and will not be sowing mine till the start of May, if they get one frost on them, ,,,,,,,,total wipeout..............Last years experiences taught me a lesson, lock up the seed packets, and concentrate on looking after whats in the plot, a later sowing is much safer and most veg. soon catch up.

Donna C said:

Hi Shaun, and welcome!

In my beginner eagerness I sowed French & runners indoors in February!!! Luckily only a couple of seeds of each!! They went off like rockets, and were about a foot tall after a week. I threw out the runners at the weekend but have kept the French beans going indoors because they have flowered and are now producing beans!!!

I did resow at the weekend for my outdoor ones though but won't plant them outside until at least middle of May.

At least i now know better for next year. I think I just thought everything had to be sown around Feb/March!!!