beans in pots?

i was going to have a go at growing runner beans, broad beans , spinach and beetroot this year and want to grow them in pots as my soil is very waterlogged. i was thinking of using a grow bag on its end and planting 3 beans to each bag? or would i really need a container? for the beetroot i have some unused drawers which are about 5 " deep, as i only want baby beets would this be deep enough do you think?

 

Do you mean to up-end the grow bags, like a sack? I think you could lay them flat as you normally would and plant maybe 6 bean plants in each bag. If you put two bags back to back you could even have a wigwam of canes over them, though they would not be very stable.

They need a lot of feeding and watering grown in bags, though. Are you sure your soil won't dry out sufficiently to plant? You won't need to sow beans until the end off April for planting out at the end of May so you have a few weeks to see how things go.

I think the drawers would be OK for baby beet. Have a go - what have you got to lose?

 

I grow my beans in those flower buckets you get sold off from supermarkets, so many for a pound, drill holes in the base for drainage. Then I am fortunate to have a side fence which with some wilkos pea and bean netting is working well.

 

I think a grow bag on its end would topple over personally. I grow my French beans in tall deep pots I salvaged from skips over the past few years. Plant about five plants per pot and they will be quite happy. I do find mine suddenly die after baring the beans though. I don't know if this is because of limited nutrients in the compost or the wind.

I've seen my aunt grow runner beans using the same method but hers bared more beans than my French beans have done. But I think that's runner beans in general really.

 

I only put 2 to a pot and feed at the same time as my tomatoes.

 

My French beans usually give up the ghost at the end of August after producing a few beans if they get round to it. But last year (nice and warm) they cranked them out until October. They were in the ground at the allotment. The variety was Blue Lake stringless - nothing special.

 

I only grow runners

 

Good idea - except I'm not wild about runners, I prefer the French beans.

 

I prefer French beans . I am growing Dwarf French bean Slenderette this year . I grow these in a containers behind my shed , I was thinking of planting 4 in a 60cm container . I'll start them on a windowsill indoors in a couple of weeks.

 

I;ve done french beans both in bags (it was a bean bag with stakes, 3 plants in each bag) and in pots. Success with both methods, I'm doing pots this year

 

I'm wondering if its worth lobbing a load of kitchen waste in the bottom before you fill them with compost? Like you would with a runner bean trench in open ground.

Give them some nutrient to get their roots into and holds moisture better.

 

Here is a link you might find useful:
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=527

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