How to grow and harvest runner beans?

I can remember growing these beans when i was growing up and I still love to plant these beans because they have such a good taste to them.

I like to grow these runner beans because they have given us a steady supply harvest of tender pods throughout summer, because the more beans we pick, the more they will grow. Most of the runner bans are climbing plants, and that makes it nice because they do not use up much of my garden space. Some of the varieties  are dwarf bush-types that if I want to try them I can plant them in my containers.



I would like to talked about some different varieties of runner beans. "Desiree" is a very tasty bean and it is a very good one as it will produce beans all summer long. "Lady Di" has string less pods that will be producing runner beans all summer long. Another string less variety is "Polestar" and the beans grows 10 inches pods and they grow all summer long.

As I am getting my garden ready to plant in the spring, I will get my garden soil ready by digging a trench for my wigwams which is a collection of poles I will train my beans later on to grow up on. I will add well-rotted organic matter, such as compost or manure to my soil. then I will put my poles up where the plants are to be growing and then I will sow one or tow seeds at the base of each pole at 2 inches deep. I will cover the sees and then I will water all of them well. It takes about two weeks for the seeds to germinate, and then I will thin out so I will have the healthiest one growing by each of my poles. I will put a light sprinkling of pellets to keep slugs from my runner beans.

I always remember that runner beans are hungry and thirsty plants. I mulch my plants in the  summer with well-rotted organic matter, such as garden compost and this helps to conserve moisture and keep my runner beans crop fed.

Runner beans needs to be well watered once the flowers appears so they will produce beans. If I do not keep my runner beans watered good, the flowers or beans will wither and fall. When the stems reach the top of the poles, I pinch off the growing tips to promote new cropping side shoots.

I check my bean pods as soon as they are large enough, and then I check my plants every two or three days. I pick them regularly because the more I pick the more the beans produce. I also love to freeze some too, so we can enjoy them during the winter.