First time I have tried to grow these, I was expecting them to be the
same as runner beans re germination but so far have very poor
germination in the ground, I have started another batch under glass but
have I just been caught out by this years weird weather or are they more
tricky?
--
Charlie Pridham
Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk

On Sunday, 16 June 2019 11:21:14 UTC+1, Charlie Pridham wrote:
First time I have tried to grow these, I was expecting them to be the
same as runner beans re germination but so far have very poor
germination in the ground, I have started another batch under glass but
have I just been caught out by this years weird weather or are they more
tricky?
--
Charlie Pridham
Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk

I prefer them to runner beans as they don't go stringy. I always sow them in root trainers and plant them out and have never had a germination problem.

Jonathan

In article ,
wrote:
On Sunday, 16 June 2019 11:21:14 UTC+1, Charlie Pridham wrote:
First time I have tried to grow these, I was expecting them to be the
same as runner beans re germination but so far have very poor
germination in the ground, I have started another batch under glass but
have I just been caught out by this years weird weather or are they more
tricky?

I prefer them to runner beans as they don't go stringy. I always sow
them in root trainers and plant them out and have never had a
germination problem.

No, they are no trickier. I soak mine for 12-24 hours, germinate them
on damp kitchen roll in a deep kitchen container under clingfilm, and
plant them into paper pots. This is because something attacks my bean
seeds in the ground after germination and before emergence, and I get
very low success rates. It sounds like a lot of hassle, but isn't,
because you get a much better crop per plant than for dwarfs - several
times as much, over a long period.

The only beans that I can plant directly are broad beans, and even then
I need to pre-germinate them and plant them early. Late ones do not
succeed.

I have given up on most green ones, on the grounds of poor success
rate and lack of flavour - they USED to be OK, but current varieties
aren't. However, I got some Shiny Fardenlosa seed in New Zealand, and
they are good, though I have to save my own seed, of course. I also
grow blue beans (usually Cosse Violette, though not this year),
Borlotti, Cherokee Trail of Tears and Greek Gigantes (actually a
runner bean), the last three for drying.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Mine are up the poles now. Started them off a few weeks ago in the greenhouse to give them a head start. They tend to be a little slower than runner beans to get started. I would sow them in early May next year if you have a greenhouse. I do the same for runners too.

On 16/06/2019 13:00, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
wrote:
On Sunday, 16 June 2019 11:21:14 UTC+1, Charlie Pridham wrote:
First time I have tried to grow these, I was expecting them to be the
same as runner beans re germination but so far have very poor
germination in the ground, I have started another batch under glass but
have I just been caught out by this years weird weather or are they more
tricky?

I prefer them to runner beans as they don't go stringy. I always sow
them in root trainers and plant them out and have never had a
germination problem.

No, they are no trickier. I soak mine for 12-24 hours, germinate them
on damp kitchen roll in a deep kitchen container under clingfilm, and
plant them into paper pots. This is because something attacks my bean
seeds in the ground after germination and before emergence, and I get
very low success rates. It sounds like a lot of hassle, but isn't,
because you get a much better crop per plant than for dwarfs - several
times as much, over a long period.

The only beans that I can plant directly are broad beans, and even then
I need to pre-germinate them and plant them early. Late ones do not
succeed.

I have given up on most green ones, on the grounds of poor success
rate and lack of flavour - they USED to be OK, but current varieties
aren't. However, I got some Shiny Fardenlosa seed in New Zealand, and
they are good, though I have to save my own seed, of course. I also
grow blue beans (usually Cosse Violette, though not this year),
Borlotti, Cherokee Trail of Tears and Greek Gigantes (actually a
runner bean), the last three for drying.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I think I made a rooky mistake putting them straight out, in my defence
it has been 20 years of not having to sow runner beans as they have
always come up each year! but I was told that the cook would prefer
french beans so I grubbed the runners out. I will wait on the ones I
sowed inside and try and remember for next year

--
Charlie Pridham
Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk

On 16/06/2019 14:31, Charlie Pridham wrote:
On 16/06/2019 13:00, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Â* wrote:
On Sunday, 16 June 2019 11:21:14 UTC+1, Charlie PridhamÂ* wrote:
First time I have tried to grow these, I was expecting them to be the
same as runner beans re germination but so far have very poor
germination in the ground, I have started another batch under glass but
have I just been caught out by this years weird weather or are they
more
tricky?

I prefer them to runner beans as they don't go stringy. I always sow
them in root trainers and plant them out and have never had a
germination problem.

No, they are no trickier.Â* I soak mine for 12-24 hours, germinate them
on damp kitchen roll in a deep kitchen container under clingfilm, and
plant them into paper pots.Â* This is because something attacks my bean
seeds in the ground after germination and before emergence, and I get
very low success rates.Â* It sounds like a lot of hassle, but isn't,
because you get a much better crop per plant than for dwarfs - several
times as much, over a long period.

The only beans that I can plant directly are broad beans, and even then
I need to pre-germinate them and plant them early.Â* Late ones do not
succeed.

I have given up on most green ones, on the grounds of poor success
rate and lack of flavour - they USED to be OK, but current varieties
aren't.Â* However, I got some Shiny Fardenlosa seed in New Zealand, and
they are good, though I have to save my own seed, of course.Â* I also
grow blue beans (usually Cosse Violette, though not this year),
Borlotti, Cherokee Trail of Tears and Greek Gigantes (actually a
runner bean), the last three for drying.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I think I made a rooky mistake putting them straight out, in my defence
it has been 20 years of not having to sow runner beans as they have
always come up each year! but I was told that the cook would prefer
french beans so I grubbed the runners out. I will wait on the ones I
sowed inside and try and remember for next year

I sow my beans direct after a brief soak in warm water, I do 2 main
sowings, first at the start of June then again Late July,
French beans are 10 weeks sowing to first pick and Runnersa 12 weeks, so
I go into the autumn with fresh young beans.
I have started to grow some climbing french beans as well as runners,
I'm growing Blue lake, an old variety that crops well and will hold with
no stringing to be done to the beans. Slice and freeze well with good
flavour.
I save a lot of my own seed and have a few of a runner bean that last
year had pods over 18 inches long and one was almost 2 inches wide.
I also grow older varieties of peas which grow up to 6ft+, again I savre
my own seed going for the tallest.
I have a can of blue Oasis flower spray that I use to mark the pods I
want to save so you cant pick them by mistake when they are hanging
there blue.

I have never soaked my cobra beans before planting them. I treat them exactly like my runner beans. I sow them in late April or early May in pots of compost and wait for them to grow to about three inches. I then plant them out, weather permitting, of course. I feel they are just the same as runner beans except that the cobra beans may be a little longer to germinate, that's all. I am in Suffolk by the way.

On Sunday, 16 June 2019 11:21:14 UTC+1, Charlie Pridham wrote:
First time I have tried to grow these, I was expecting them to be the
same as runner beans re germination but so far have very poor
germination in the ground, I have started another batch under glass but
have I just been caught out by this years weird weather or are they more
tricky?
--
Charlie Pridham
Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk

I think they're rather more prone than runners to rotting if they're over-wet, and if you've had anything like the amount of rain we've had in Lincolnshire, that might not have helped.
Janet G