How To Grow Runner Beans
About
Runner beans are fantastic to grow. You can get bountiful crops if they are grown well. You certainly will be giving them away to all your family and friends as you will have too many too keep up with. Runner bean plants are attractive with there red flowers which will keep the bees happy while they are pollinating all of them.
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When to plant Runner Beans
Here you will find the best time to sow, plant and harvest runner beans in the UK. Remember also it all depends on the weather when planting seeds. Look after your plants and you will get a long cropping period.
| Sow | April to June |
| Plant | June to July |
| Harvest | July to October |
Varieties of Runner Beans
There are a few recommend varieties of runner beans these are:-
Lady Di:- This is the best variety to grow if you do not want string beans. They remain stringless even when they grow big.
Achievement Merit:- These are great to grow for competitions for the longest beans. They are stringless if they are picked when young.
Enorma Elite:- This variety is a favorite of many gardeners, producing great crops. They produce a red flower.
Firestorm:- This has been bred from the genes of french beans so they crop really easy they are not dependent on bees pollinating them. The flowers are orange/red.
Polestar:- this variety of runner bean produces fantastic crops. It even produces up to the first frosts. This is a favorite of many gardeners as it is a string less bean.
Red Rum:- This variety of runner bean produces crops from early on. IT also produces lots of red flowers.
St George:- This variety of runner bean produces red and white flowers so is extremely attractive in the garden. It also produces stringless beans.
Scarlet Emperor:- This variety of runner bean is one of the oldest varieties around. However it is not stringless so this crop needs to be picked early on.
Snow Drift:- This variety of runner bean has white flowers obvious from the name. It has been bred with french bean genes so that it does not need bees to help pollinate them. The beans are straight in shape.
Snowstorm:- This runner bean has also been bred with french bean genes so that you do not need bees to help pollinate them. This is beneficial as the population of bees decreases.
White Lady:- this variety is grown all over the world just for it’s white flowers. It is a great cropper. IF you pick them when they are young they will be completly stringless.
White Apollo:- This has white flowers and produces great crops.
Wisley Magic :- This variety will produce crops all the way up to October. They are extremely good for freezing. They will also grow perfectly straight.
Where to grow Runner Beans
Did you know you can grow runner beans in the ground, in pots and even in growbags! When choosing where to grow runner beans it is important to choose the best spot. The plants will love you if you plant them in a nice sunny position. Runner beans do not like frost and will kill the plants off if they are planted too early. A few weeks before you plant them in there position add some fertiliser to the ground. This will help produce bertter crops and also keep the ground more moist.
When runner beans are flowering they will like a lot of water so if you are growing them in pots or growbags be sure to water them every day.
How to sow runner bean seeds
When sowing your runner beans you can either sow them straight in the ground or in pots first then transplant them outdoors. Personally the best way is to start them in pots first as they will get them stronger. You can grow them tall then plant them outdoors. If you grow them in the ground as they are popping through the soil slugs and pigeons will eat them too pieces and are less likely to survive.
To sow runner beans in pots first plant 2-3 runner beans per plant pot and water every day to every other day if it is cooler. Place the runner beans somewhere warm and sunny to help them germinate.
Watch our video below to show you how to plant and sow runner bean seeds
How to plant Runner Beans
When you need to plant your runner beans out you need to do this carefully to get the best crop out of them. Wait until the plants have got to a good size before planting them out, this way they will withstand the pigeons eating them and slugs attacking them. You also need to wait until the frost has passed as this will kill the plants and shock them.
When planting out your runner beans you will need some canes or fencing to grow them up. Runner beans need the support to cling to, this enables them to grow upwards and not along the floor where they can get eaten.
Choose a sunny position to grow your runner beans. Runner beans need to be spaced around 20cm apart in total. Before planting out make sure the area you are growing them has been weeded. You can add some fertilizer a month before to help produce better crops. If you add compost to the ground it will help retain moisture.
The best way and the most common way to grow beans is up garden canes what have been angled against each other in two rows. This way the bean plants grow at an angle and the beans will hang down the middle making them easy to find as they do like to blend in with the leaves.
One other way other gardeners grow them is in a wig wam shape. This way you can have around 6-8 plants and they will take up less room than two rows.
Caring for the crop
Runner beans are quite easy to look after when it comes to growing your own produce. At first you will need to help them wrap around the canes to grow up them but once they get going they will grow themselves up the canes.
One of the main things you need to do is make sure the runner beans are kept weed free in the area. They do not like fighting for the nutrients and water with other plants.
When the runner beans start to flower they will need watering every day especially when the weather is dry. At night you can spray them with water as this will help with pollination of the flowers if there is not many bees around to help with this task.
When the runner beans have reached the top of the canes you can pinch the tops off so that the plant bushes out and focuses growing the produce.
Here you can watch our video on how to care for your runner bean plants
How to harvest
Harvesting your runner beans is the best part, especially having them with your Sunday dinner. Your runner beans will take around 14 weeds to be ready from planting the seeds through to the first bean being ready to harvest. Once you start picking them you will not stop – you will end up sharing them with friends and amily and even freezing them there will be that many.
It is best to pick your runner beans when they are still young, not to big or swelled as this is when they loose there flavor and become stringy.
Pests
The pests that can affect your runner beans when growing them are:-
Slugs:- The best way to protect against slugs is to try and water in the morning as the slugs do not come out in the daytime. Also put egg shells around the plants or even sand as they don’t like that.
Pigeons:- These will attack the plants when they are young and vunerable. Put plastic milk cartons round them or netting to stop the birds getting to them
Black Bean Aphids:- More commonly seen on broad beans but can be seen on runner beans. Catch them and squish them immediately. These can cause they plant to be stunted.
Diseases
There are not many diseases that affect runner beans but you could have none or not many beans. This can be down to lack of pollination. Spray the flowers at night with a fine mist of water to help with pollination. Make sure that the ground is kept moist.
Facts
Did you know that the runner bean has been grown for over 2000 years. It originally comes from Central America. Here it is actually grown as a perennial but in the UK it is grown as an annual as the autumn and winter frosts kill the plant off.
Growing Runner beans in pots and grow bags
Mentioned further up the page we said you can grow runner beans in pots and grow bags. This method is ideal for those that do not have gardens – those who just have patios and decking. This is your perfect way to attract bees to the garden.
To grow runner beans in pots and grow bags all you do is plant the runner beans round the edge of the pot or grow bag. Store it somewhere warm and sunny till they start growing. Once the seeds start germinating put your canes in the pot or in the grow bag in a wigwam shape so that the runner beans can climb up the canes. The runner beans need supporting while they grow. Runner beans cannot trail across the floor as they will get eaten by birds and slugs.
Freezing Runner Beans
When you grow runner beans you will certainly be in abundence with them and you will not know what to do with them all. Well you can actully store them by freezing them. Locking in the freshness and eating them when you are actually ready for them.
To freeze runner beans you need to blanch them first. This is done by chopping off the tough bits. Chop the runner beans bu slicing them into pieces. Cook in boiling water and leave them to cool before freezing them.
Cooking Runner Beans
To cook runner beans is an easy task. First you need to slice them into chunks – cutting off all the tough bits and the stalk. Then boil the runner beans in some salt until they are soft and tender. Then you can serve and eat.
Cooking runner beans is easy. First slice them and cut them into chucks – cutting off all the tough bits and stalk. Boil in water with some salt in until soft and tender.
Growing Questions
How tall should I let my runner beans grow?
That is totally up to you, people tend to let them grow to the top of the cane then pinch the tops off to let them bush out.
How do I start runner beans?
The best way is to start them off in plant pots 2-3 per pot. Let them grow tall before planting out.
Do Runner beans need a lot of sun?
Runner beans do like to be grown in a sunny position. Make sure you keep them watered though.
Do you need to feed runner beans?
You can feed runner beans liquid fertilizer every time you water them. But when the flowers start to form switch to tomato feed.
What month do you plant beans?
You can plant beans indoors from may but do not plant them outdoors till the last frost has been at the end of May beginning of June.
Can I feed runner beans with tomato feed?
Only feed runner beans with tomato feed once the flowers start to appear. Before this you can feed runner beans general liquid fertiliser.
Should you soak runner bean seeds before planting?
You can soak your runner beans before planting but no longer than 8 hours. I’ve never soaked my beans and they all germinate.
Do you pinch out the top of runner beans?
You can pinch your runner beans out at the top when they reach the top of there garden cane. This will encourage them to bush out.
Do slugs eat runner beans?
Yes slugs do eat runner bean plants, that is why you are best growing the plants indoors first until they are around a foot to two foot long before planting outside. Protect your plants from slugs.
When can I plant my runner beans outside?
Plant you runner beans outside in June once the last frost has been. Beans do not like the frost and will kill the plant.
Hopefully you have all the tips for growing runner beans at home or the allotment and getting a great harvest. Which variety of runner bean are you going to try? Let us know in the comments.