Broad Bean & Runner Beans

Both runner and broad beans are easy to grown , in a sunny well composted part of your garden . Both are tradionally grown up supporting canes and both produce attractive flowers prior to fruiting for those that fancy incorporating them into your flowerbeds .Runner beans usually produce a striking red flower while the broad bean produce a white/lilac flower. While both like a well composted sunny spot there are differences – broad beans can be planted out in November to get a head start for an early crop ,while its not advisable to plant out your runner beans until the last frosts have passed .

Runner Beans – Plant about 2” deep and 12” apart from mid-May onwards. If you can protect by using cloches you’ll be able to plant a month earlier. For earlier crops, plant seed from early March under protection of a glasshouse / window-sill and harden off your young plants (get them gradually used to colder temperatures) before planting out in the garden. I’m using a variety called “STREAMLINE” this year and as FLOWERS & FOLIAGE specialise in growing planted containers,I’m planting mine in 40cm pots and will support them with bamboo canes. 

If you’re going to plant them in the garden you might like to either plant two rows about 18” apart and use crossed cane supports or in a circle and have all the canes meet in the middle – rather like I’m doing with the pot grown ones only on a larger scale . Both add a very striking feature to either vegetable or flower garden , and even the pot grown ones can be placed into a “bald patch” in your flower beds to add height & interest. These should be ready to start harvesting end July onwards.

Broad Beans – sow your beans 9” apart and 3” deep. Again you will need to support the plant as it grows so it’s a choice again of you wig-wham crossed supports or circular. Once again I’m opting for pot growing but it’s just personal choice and of course it hasn’t been influenced by the fact I have a glasshouse at my disposal! When the broad beans are in full flower pinch out the tops, it has a number of benefits – producing an earlier bigger crop and reduces the risk of black fly attack (they like the softer young growth at the top). 

 Neither bean variety will benefit from being planted beside either beetroot or any of the onion family. Maize (corn) benefit from the nitrogen released by the roots of the broad beans. Rosemary also is a good companion plant for the bean family as it repels a lot of bean parasites, like bean beetle.

There are lots of garden centres and stores that are selling young vegetable plants, which you plant the same way as described for seed but will speed up the process.

 I tried both broad bean “DREADNOUGHT “and runner bean “STREAMLINE”. Both strips of young plants were to have 8 plants in them but I received a few more in each of them. They were strong healthy plants and I don’t foresee any trouble getting an early crop from them. It might tempt any of you would be growers, who are still worried about planting seed to give vegetable growing a try – go on!

 What ever way you decide to plant your vegetables this year , seed or young plants - happy gardening .

Hostas

There are lots of perennial plants that you can divide if they are getting out of hand where they are planted. This is of more importance if you have perennial plants planted in pots. They become “pot bound” – they simply outgrow the pot and the roots have nowhere to go but round and round the bottom of the pot. But the good thing is you get two or three extra new plants when you divide them.

                         

This is what I did a little while ago with a whole load of Hostas I had planted in pots for a few years. Take the whole plant out of the pot. Then depending on how pot bound it is, divide them into 2, 3 or 4 pieces.

Mine were pretty bad so I divided them into 4 pieces. I then planted them into four pots, placing the new plant in the centre and filling in with multipurpose compost around it. I mixed in a slow release feed that is designed to last 12-14 months to give a little extra feed, but you could also just remember to either liquid feed your plant or hand dress it with a little slow release feed on top.

Using John Innes compost or mixing a little top soil in with your compost would also increase the nourishment for the plant. Water in well, and always remember to water containers well as they can’t take any water/feed from the ground. Rain is rarely enough to keep container watered properly. Also make sure you place drainage holes in the bottom of the pots – I have seen rain waterlogging pots that have no drainage in them. Very few plants like their roots waterlogged.

Hostas are mainly grown for their foliage but do send up spikes of bell shaped flowers, usually white, pink or lilac in colour. They are a fully hardy herbaceous (that dies down to soil level in winter) plant that prefers either shade or a semi-shaded sheltered area. They like a semi rich soil with a certain amount of water. Normally they grow to a height of 1 metre with a similar spread, though you can get dwarf varieties. They come in a variety of blue/green colours and a number of variegated white/green and yellow/green versions. Used to enhance boarders, cottage garden and containers, they have numerous uses and will add interest to whatever style of garden your trying to create. A word of warning though – slugs and snails love their leaves. I don’t like using chemicals to keep pests at bay but I make one exception for my hostas and use liquid SLUG CLEAR to keep slug free. It’s the same make up as the slug pellets but much safer if you have animals around the garden.

Until next time - happy gardening !

Whitefly Greenfly Aphids ?

Anyone pestered with whitefly/greenfly/aphids?

After planting numerous containers with petunia I noticed I have a family of them! Well, I rarely resort to chemical sprays so I dug up a few of Granny Gaules tried and trusted remedies  to attack the problem and so far so good.



Water: if the infestation isn’t too bad you can simply spray the affected area and knock them off the plants. Sounds too simple, but it often works if as I said the problem is caught in time. Be careful where you spray them onto though – you want to get rid of them, not get them to move house!





Companion planting: this is more of prevention rather than a cure. It won’t have any major effect if you already have the problem, but planting certain plants together have proven to be very effective in reducing predators to one or both. Planting African Marigolds, French Marigolds (tagetes), Nasturtiums, Onions/chives/garlic, Zinnia and Sunflower have the effect of reducing or eliminating attacks of greenfly/whitefly/aphids. So think before you plant to avoid a whole range of pests. We’ll come back to this topic in the near future and give it a more comprehensive airing.



Garlic Spray: this spray is made up using nontoxic components and is very effective against a range of similar type visitors – greenfly whitefly aphids and red spider mite.

Required -

·       120 ml of liquid soap ( but not detergent )

·       3 cloves of Garlic

·       1 cup of cooking/soya bean oil

·       1 gallon of water

Crush the garlic and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Leave for 24 hours to mix. Strain and use the liquid as a spray. Make sure you get the underside of the leaves. The oil blocks the spiracles through which they breathe and the soap makes sure the mixture/spray sticks.



Tabaco Spray:  this is effective but were really going back in time now, but be careful using this on tomatoes / or in greenhouses with tomatoes. they can be susceptible to Tabaco mosaic virus and the jury’s still out as to whether the risk is eliminated by using cigarette butts instead of broken up Tabaco  - some say intense heat involved in smoking kills virus and some don’t agree – so if in doubt avoid use.

Required –

·       Cup of Tabaco/cigarette butts

·       1 gallon of water

·       Drop or two of soap ( to make it stick )

Mix Tabaco/butts with water and leave for 24/48 hours, should be like the colour of weak tea when ready. Any darker dilute. Nicotine will kill pests when sprayed on plants.



Hope this helps all effected with these little blighters !


Happy Gardening