Newbie Gardener from SW Cornwall

Hi, Glad to be here! I am a complete beginner and have started a very small veggie plot 3m square in my lawn, where so far I have peas, broad beans and spinach coming along nicely started from seed indoors back in March. Also planted stocks (slugs breakfast), and a few hanging basket flowers. Enjoying it so far with the help of Google and YouTube, but got one or two questions so joined this forum hoping to get answers . Thank you for having me.

 

Welcome to our friendly forum, @Irene Woodhead!



Nick

 

I have a question - how can I help my French beans to thrive. First lot started from seed indoors failed when planted out in April. Diagnosed too cold, too early, not hardened off enough and did not feed. So next lot I fed the soil first with liquid feed and every two weeks after, put seed direct into soil but they are not really thriving. Next lot are just up and I must find out how to look after them to produce abundant cropping. Is there a French bean expert out there?

 

10-out-of-10 for that diagnosis

Although ... "feed" is probably not necessary, per se. Peas and Beans make their own Nitrogen fertiliser "out of thin air" (I've glossed over some details there!!) and very few soils are deficient in the other major minerals that are needed. Plenty of organic matter, in the soil, helps because it retains water in the dry periods. The old fashioned approach was to make a trench, in winter, where the double row of climbing beans was to be planted and chucking everything in there - newspapers, grass clippings, old stalks from Brussel Sprouts .. all to help hold water. Cover over, plant Climbing / Runner Beans. Of course it looked like a fly-tip during the winter months! so that may not be your first choice.

OK, I'll take issue with that. I think liquid feed, before sowing, is too "quick acting" so likely to get washed out before it can do any good. Others may disagree? The old fashioned approach (might have been improved on by now, but I'm "of that age") was to work in some granular fertiliser shortly before sowing / planting, and that would be available to the plant in the early stages and the act of working it in would hoe-off any emerging weeds, disrupt germinating seed, encourage more to germinate and then those would be sorted-out and fewer to come for rest of season.

French Beans seeds are not great germinators. Particularly the fancy varieties carefully bred to be Athletes, as such they need more mollycoddling IME. Cold and wet = rot instead of germinate.

I would start them indoors. Either in a pot, on windowsill, or on some damp (but most definitely not soaking wet, check it daily and add more as the beans absorb what is there) kitchen paper in Tupperware with a lid. Once chitted (root emerged - probably 3 - 7 days) you could plant out - they are "ready to go" at that point. Or better still, if you have somewhere to put them, you could pot on (you would only be potting on the ones that worked ...). Or you could do some-and-some if you only have space for a few pots, those ones will give you an earlier start to harvest

Keep them warm. If the night is forecast below 10C I would cover them (fleece is ideal, but you could put an old blanket over them if you can make some "hoops" that will stop the weight crushing them)

Keep the wind off them too.

All that easier to do with Beans in Pots in a greenhouse / similar

1st of June is when I consider the weather is likely to collaborate ... before that the risk is that the cold makes the plant stall, it will be slow to get going again ('coz it will assume "more bad weather coming"), and that period of stall stops it being in peak-health, and that has some impact on its immune system - so although not often a problem, it does open it up to being less fit & healthy.

But everyone on here growing veg is trying to beat the odds for an "end of miserable winter" and "nice, new-season, fresh produce" objective. My solution is a big greenhouse ...

 

Hello and welcome to GC