Runner Bean growth stages

Jenny’s summer garden has one unidentified, tasty, very productive vegetable, and it saves her money.

Runner beans are a true heavyweight of the kitchen garden. Once they start producing, current bean harvests can continue well into autumn and they also freeze well. Just remember to pick them to encourage more beans to develop.

Follow our advice to grow a bumper crop of current beans this year.

• Plant current seed in an 8cm (3in) pot, burying the seed with a layer of compost as deep as the entire seed.
• Keep the seeds at 20C (68F) and put them into a 15cm (6in) pot when the plant has developed true leaves.
• Plant out runner beans when the plants produce long, spindly shoots long enough to wind around a bamboo cane.

Stages of Soybean Growth

• VE – Emergence – Cotyledons (embryonic leaves) emerge from the soil surface.
• VC – Cotyledon – The monofoliate leaves a lot of unrolling, so the edges of the leaves do not touch.
• V1 – First node – One row of unfolded trifoliate leaves.
• V(n) – nú trifolate – V stages continue with the release of the trifolate leaves.

• R1 – Flowers begin – Plants have at least one flower.
• R2 – Full flower – One open flower at one of the two upper nodes.
• R3 – Form pods – Pods are approximately 5mm in size at one of the top four nodes with a fully developed leaf.
• R4 – Pods fully formed – The pods are around 2cm in size at one of the four highest nodes.
• R5 – Seed form – The seed is 3mm long in the pod at one of the four highest nodes on the main stem.
• R6 – Full seed formation – A pod containing a green seed that fills the capacity of the pod at one of the four highest nodes on the main stem.
• R7 – Maturity begins – One normal pod on the main stem has reached a mature color (grey, tan or brown)
• R8 – Plants reach full maturity – 95% of the pods have reached their mature color whole (grey, tan or brown).

The harvest is almost anytime

Runner beans begin to be used in gastronomic desserts earlier than you think. Their edible flowers add a beany flavor to stir-fries and salads, and when scarlet flowers are used, they also add a bright spot of colour. Like common beans, runner can be harvested in the snap, shell, and dry stages.

I harvest very young pods between 4 and 6 inches to use as snap beans. At this size, I think their taste and tenderness are better than common beans. Since the pods can continue to grow to a huge size (up to 18 inches), snap beans can be harvested over a long period of time. As they continue to develop, the broad flat pods are like Romano beans on steroids. For the best snaps, only smooth pods that show no sign of seed development are harvested.

Sow

Sow when the threat of frost is over (May or early June in most of the UK). Start them indoors in pots on a bright windowsill or outside in their final pot. Tip: plant more beans than you need in case slugs eat some.

Beans need plenty of water to grow and produce well. Use a large pot of at least 20 liters but ideally 40 – 50 liters (4 – 10 gallons). Large pots hold more water and don’t dry out as quickly. Or use a large container with a water reservoir (such as a Land Box). Keep well watered, especially on hot or windy days.