Gardener’s often say “spring is late this year.” In olden days this meant the chill of winter had lasted longer. In the last couple of years here this has meant the weather in April and May has been unpredictable with fluctuations in temperature (especially at night) making it difficult to move plants outdoors so they …Read More about May: Summer is coming
Posts relating to beans
Winter raised bed
With summer crops finished and the raised bed cleared and fed with compost, it is time to organise the winter planting. In this garden rows of onions, garlic and broad beans fill the raised bed over winter for harvesting in late spring. Other crops have been tried but with the damp conditions in the garden …Read More about Winter raised bed
Starting city beans
Beans are an ideal crop for growing in cities. While many think of beans growing in wigwams in open ground, in cities they work well growing on walls and stairwells or on netting over spaces. Climbing beans and bush varieties also work well growing in containers on balconies or rooftops. With many varieties to choose …Read More about Starting city beans
Planning for summer
Summer may be some way off but it does no harm to start thinking about just what you want to achieve in the garden (or on the balcony) this year. This all starts by ordering the seeds in the next week or two and being ready to start them indoors after Valentine’s day in February. …Read More about Planning for summer
New Year Gardening
January hardly seems like a time to be gardening. Indeed, November and December are better for starting garlic, broad beans and onion sets. These crops benefit from a cold snap once they are in the ground. However, with the extremes of modern weather it does no harm to plant these into January for a mid …Read More about New Year Gardening
Harvesting climbing beans
Bean plants can be either bush beans (grown on a bush) or climbing beans (grown on a vine). The main types of climbing bean are either runner beans (phaseolus coccineus) or green beans (phaseolus vulgaris). While grown and used in the same way, runner beans produce larger pods with rougher skin, and do better in …Read More about Harvesting climbing beans