This week I found some straggly pots of runner bean plants that I had sown back in May, barely remembered to water and had buried under a pile of fleece. Surprisingly they had survived, but more by luck than design.
It’s a bit embarrassing, but I thought I’d share it with you.
The plants had grown a bit, but were looking pretty straggly and weak. So I cut off all the growth, leaving about 6 inches of stem. There are about five plants in each 3-litre pot.
Runner beans are perennials although they are very tender and rarely survive our winters even with protection.
These plants, if they haven’t been too stressed by my neglect, should re-sprout and regrow to create a late harvest of my favourite veg, so that I should be picking runner bens into the autumn.
As I often sow a late crop of seeds taking advantage of the warmer conditions in the greenhouse that are so beneficial for germination and growth, I’ll sow some now and grow them alongside the cut back plants and see what happens.
Should be interesting, but I hope it’s productive too.
