Are you already planning your 2021 vegetable plot?

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Subversive_plot

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Re: Are you already planning your 2021 vegetable plot?
« Reply #15 on: August 10, 2020, 22:46 »

Mrs Growster's sister lives in Richmond Va, and she was a keen gardener up to a few years ago, when it got a bit much, but one veg she couldn't get going was ordinary runner beans! She tried all manner of ways, getting seed from over here, sowing at different times, but they just didn't materialise!

How do you get on, a bit further South?
Hi Growster!

Yes we are about 660 km southwest of Mrs. Growster's sister! 

You may find this a bit odd, but you are more likely to find runner beans growing in USA gardens as an ornamental, rather than as a food crop.  That statement is mostly about climate, rather than a comment on runner beans as a food.  Runner beans simply do better in cool, foggy, cloudy and wet growing conditions.  Nova Scotia, Maine, or the Pacific northwest would probably be great for them, and I suspect they are grown in those places.  They might also do OK in the highest elevation mountain towns in our eastern Appalachian Mountains in the South (though I don't know that for certain). 

Here in Athens, GA, summers are too hot and intermittently too dry for them.  I have a neighbor that grows scarlet runner beans for the red flowers; I see and occasional pod, but they don't set many of those, I suspect not enough to eat. 

In Georgia, we do grow beans, most of which are "snap beans".  I think you call these French beans?  We divide ours by growth habit (bush, half-runner, or pole beans), or color (green beans, wax beans (yellow), purple beans).  My favorite green beans are Roma (a broad-podded variety), Kentucky Wonder, and Blue Lake, all pole beans (you might grow these on pole tripods).  If I could grow only one of them, it would be Roma, but the other two are very good as well.  There is also a bush Roma.

Golden wax and Cherokee wax are my favorite wax beans.  Both are "bush" types, though Cherokee will also climb a bit (half runner).  They have a milder flavor than green beans.  I don't really have much experience with the purple ones.

People also grow Lima beans or butter beans in the south.

(Niece worked as a physician just down the road from you, In Atlanta - specialising in HIV - I don't think she grew beans either...)!

Society can always do with more good people like your niece, working to keep people healthy! 

When I am not working at home, I also work in Atlanta.  I am a geologist, working in a regulatory capacity to assure that contaminated sites are properly cleaned up by the owners.
"Somewhere between right and wrong, there is a garden. I will meet you there."~ Rumi

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Subversive_plot

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Re: Are you already planning your 2021 vegetable plot?
« Reply #16 on: August 10, 2020, 22:49 »
yes we to are planning for 2021 as we harvest the raised beds of veg this season we plan the crop rotation by numbering the raised bed we can plan new crops in that bed for next season

hopefully if the green manure has done its job that will be next seasons potato ground and within the planning cycle we have spring cabbage seedlings ready to prick out into pots and onion seed to sow along with winter cauliflowers all to overwinter in the poly tunnel and ready to plant out come spring next year fingers crossed  :)

so the plan is already started for next season I've also been looking at some seed to order for next year taking advantage of the autumn ordering discounts available i think this season has been for some including us a bit frustrating because with the initial lock down we started late and  seemed to have played catch up but things haven't been that bad for our veg crops like always you win some and you loose some that's the nature of gardening

Rowland, it sounds like you have your crop rotation down to a science!

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rowlandwells

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Re: Are you already planning your 2021 vegetable plot?
« Reply #17 on: August 11, 2020, 08:39 »
thanks for that comment sub/plot its really all about crop rotation when i worked on the farm i took notice how the farmer i worked for did his crop rotation and then bringing that into my way of gardening there was obviously a plan of what was grew year on year and so i followed that rule of thumb

and its worked for me i have to say the seasons do seem to have changes some what over the years so we have to try to compensate for that change that's not always possible in our climate but as gardeners all we can do is try as said some we win so we loose

but yes i believe very much in crop rotation and this includes in that rotation the raised beds getting  manure each year except for those intended for root crops and as i said I'm growing green manure on my open ground to compensate for an alternative to cattle manure because its no longer available from the local farmer don't know if its going to be the best alternative but that to will come into my crop rotation plan

a little bit of explanation to the background behind my crop rotation plan for what its worth

 

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basketcase

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Re: Are you already planning your 2021 vegetable plot?
« Reply #18 on: August 11, 2020, 08:56 »
"You may find this a bit odd, but you are more likely to find runner beans growing in USA gardens as an ornamental, rather than as a food crop." 
Not really, they used to be grown as an ornamental in GB too.  Whereas, I discovered recently, Dahlias used to be grown for their edible roots!

"That statement is mostly about climate, rather than a comment on runner beans as a food.  Runner beans simply do better in cool, foggy, cloudy and wet growing conditions."
So.  Scotland then...  :lol:



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