[andyww2013]

Hi,

Anybody planted out their beans yet?

Down south we're expecting the nightly lows of around 8c for the next week - is this survivable for beans?

I've got a full selection of French and runner beans all getting rather tall....

[al78]

I sowed mine in pots indoors last weekend and they are just showing now. It will be at least a couple of weeks before I think of planting them out.

[Hampshire Hog]

Still a bit early I think. I have put out a few sweet corn but they are protected by a mini greenhouse. Probably trickier with beans, if they are dwarf french you could put them out under a cloche but still risky.
Good luck HH

[New shoot]

You could plant out, but there is still danger of a late frost.  You have to balance that with the damage that may be done by keeping them in and them possibly getting pot bound or difficult to plant as leggy.

I have climbing peas out now on wigwams and have used fleece to protect them over the last few weeks. Clothes pegs are very useful for attaching it to the canes and then you just have to weight or peg down the base.  My fleece starts quite high up the canes, then splays out on the ground, so the peas have room to grow.  Dwarf beans are a bit easier to cover.  I use tunnels with blue water pipe hoops to get the height I need.

I do usually have beans out by mid May, but I am running late with sowings.  It is do-able with a bit of effort.  I must admit I don’t tend to worry to much with beans as they are fast growing and easy to replace if the worst happens 

[Diggerdownsman]

I transplanted out runner and climbing french beans a couple of weeks ago as I impatiently started them too soon and they were in danger of getting too leggy in the house.  I planted them out at the base of cane wigwams, but soon had to make a temporary makeshift cloche around them to protect them from the cold.  The runners have started to climb, but the french beans seem to have just stopped growing. I was going to take the cloche off them today. But the wind would probably blow them into the next street..

[Hampshire Hog]

One of my plot neighbours has a few runners out with the protection of a wind break.
Not many others planted out yet.
Cheers HH

[jaydig]

I planted mine out on Friday, but I've got a back up batch just coming through, just in case!

[Longshanks]

I usually just sow the seeds mid-May, which works fine. This year, I grew a few plants too and have planted them out. Will just stick a plastic bottle over them if it looks dodgy.

[jambop]

I am gardening in SW France... ideal you might think? I have not been able to get my beans germinated it has been so cold and recently quite wet, perfect for rotting the seeds rather than germination. There is no point, IMO, sowing something that requires a nice warm dry'ish spell for successful germination. Frustrating but I am just waiting for the right conditions to arrive. Same goes for my tomatoes they are ready to go in now but the ground is really quite cold and wet so I am waiting a couple of days as the weather is getting a bit warmer and drying out a bit.

[andyww2013]

Planted mine out in the end, they were getting too big in pots.  As it's still chilly I've wrapped fleece around the canes to give them some protection.

[missmoneypenny]

Jambop that makes me feel better. Thunderstorms and hail here today ( south London).

[jambop]

Jambop that makes me feel better. Thunderstorms and hail here today ( south London).

To be honest we have been getting some very poor weather for weeks now. It would be fair to say that the current weather is more like early March than mid May. What has been very noticeable is that it has been colder than normal, consistently about 6 to 8C down . It was very dry in early spring but we have now had a bit of rain which was needed but we are not getting the warmth we would expect. I do know though that regardless of what is happening now we will still get some decent weather soon and there will be the usual moan about it being too hot later in the summer. So we will get some decent crops but they will be later than normal.

[Enfield Glen]

I find that planting them out before the leaves have fully opened works best. this gives them a chance to acclimatize and lets the leaves toughen up slowly.

[Hampshire Hog]

Just planted out a few runners today with a bit of fleece protection.
Based on comments here I’m still holding back on putting out any climbing french beans. Fingers crossed I will be able to put out the rest of my beans by month end.
Cheers HH