THE RUNNER BEAN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 November 1939, Page 3

THE RUNNER BEAN

PRODUCTIVE VEGETABLE. : This is one of the most productive and useful of vegetables, for, if it is well grown and if the pods are picked regularly, it produces quantities until it is cut down by frost. It is not an annual, the old roots shooting up again a second season, but it is best treated as such, and fresh seed should be sown every year. As the flowers are ornamental it can be planted to cover fences or walls, where, if trained up strings, it will grow to a great height and produce quantities of pods. Runners like exceptionally rich soil, and the site of last season’s celerj- trench is very suitable, but any deeply cultivated and liberally manured soil will do. The seeds are sown in a flat drill similar to broad beans, being placed at four inches apart in two rows. If they all germinate every second one should be pulled out. As the runner beans are more tender than either peas or broad beans, it is not desirable to sow in the open until about the middle of November, for if stunted by cold blasts in their infancy they take a long time to recover. To get early crops, it is better to sow the seeds in boxes of about 50 seeds in an ordinary seed box, these being placed in the greenhouse or frame, or failing either in a warm, sunny veranda, and when hardened off the plants are put out about the middle of November. Staking is necessary to get the best results, but as they twine round their supports, twiggy or branchy ones are not necessary. They are usually put in a double row and fastened together at the top to steady them. If stakes or any other kind of support are not available, crops can be grown by pinching out the growing point from time to time, thus causing the plants to form bushes which can sprawl on the ground. Runners require plenty of water during dry weather, and. a mulch of strawy manure is of assistance. One advantage of runners is, that if the supply of pods is more than the demand, the surplus can be salted down for winter use. Varieties to sow are Prizewinner and Best of All. Dwarf French beans are a useful crop, but they are not nearly as productive as runners and consequently are not as suitable for a small garden. They, like the runners, prefer a deep, rich soil and a warm, sheltered position. The seeds are sown in a drill about two inches deep at three inches apart. If all germinate, they are thinned out to six inches apart. They are inclined to tumble over when they begin to pod and should be supported by strings fastened to sticks on each side of the row, or by twiggy branches. Canadian Wonder is still one of the best varieties. Waxpod or butter beans require the same treatment and cultivation as French beans. They are more tender and more delicate in flavour than French beans, and they provide an additional variety.

In the case of both peas and beans it is very important to pick them when the pods or seeds are young and tender and not to wait until the seeds get hard and the pods stringy.