Bean Trench

What do you guy's put in a bean trench?? Newspaper? cardboard? veg peelings?
How deep would you make it? And should I start now?
Thanks.

What do you guy's put in a bean trench?? Newspaper? cardboard? veg peelings?
How deep would you make it? And should I start now?
Thanks.

You can put all those in and starting now is ideal.  I dug 3 very deep ones (80cm or so) on my plot last autumn to take green waste from the garden and plot and am planning rows of drying beans with squashes trailing out from under them.

You could halve that depth for veg peelings and newspaper, as they rot down fast to almost nothing.  They will give the beans a good source of nutrients and help retain the water in the soil.

ive never bothered   an i get a good crop each year

I tried once and noticed no difference..........apart from the effort of digging the trench  I could perhaps see the advantage/need on freely draining soil.

I grow beans in the same place year after year with no trouble. I heap rotted compost over the trench in the autumn and leave the rest to the worms. About every 3 years i dig out my trench and line it with shreaded paper and rotted hos muck and refill with what was taken out.
Beans are very hungy and thirsty.

Also, grow broad and runner beans in same place each year. Always a great crop.
Always grow another crop between the broad beans like radish when they are growing and then another crop of brassicas and sweetcorn once the broad beans have finished.
A quick turn over late Autumn. Then start throwing the veg peelings over the bean plots, the worms drag them down.
Come Feb, another turn over and add some compost from the bin then a rake when the beans are ready to sow.