Munty's runner bean frame

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Quetzal

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #180 on: July 22, 2009, 19:14 »
i have to admit, i imagined that it would be a case of 1 vine per plant, point them in the right direction, and off they go, whereas there are multiple vines per plant, and they seem to like jumping from string to string a lot more than growing up their allocated line.

I've pinched the tips out of the vines which have reached the top, but they keep growing.

I'm still a little concerned about the bushiness at the bottom.

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Aunt Sally

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #181 on: July 22, 2009, 19:20 »
There's not much flower either Quetzal  :(

Have you been feeding them ?  Too much feed will produce lots of leaves and not much flower. 

I only feed mine if they are going a bit pale before they flower.  As soon as they start to flower I use tomato fertiliser on them once every 10 days or so.

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Paul Plots

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« Reply #182 on: July 23, 2009, 01:27 »
I never feed mine once they have been planted - they start off a few inches above a deep trench of rotted compost - have a sprinkling of chicken pellets as they are dunked from pot to plot and then it's water, water and more water.

It seems to work for me... well, for them I mean.  ;)
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Quetzal

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #183 on: July 23, 2009, 09:48 »
i think i fed them once. i was hoping the flower would come in due course.

There are actually two types of bean - runners on one side and borlotto beans on the other.

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Paul Plots

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« Reply #184 on: August 15, 2009, 12:16 »
Despite the more than average rainfall I think runner beans may have been a bit on the dry side (in my region) if not watered carefully inbetween down-pours.

I've found my row of beans (that have grown like a thick privet hedge) have sometimes been surprisingly dry just below the soil surface so have watered them. Where I haven't (it's a long row) the beans have tended to be a bit as you described.

If you dug in lots of compost last autumn and added a bit of feed to the soil at planting time I don't think you should have gone wrong.

I never pinch out the tops though.... just let them get on with it as nature intended (??)

Better luck next year - but I think you will still get a crop this year... the lower flower often tends to give way to flower higher up as the season goes on.  ;)

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Paul Plots

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« Reply #185 on: August 15, 2009, 12:53 »
I'm lucky as my allotment plot was once my dad's and he turned the hefty clay into the most wonderful friable soil by adding compost and farmyard manure for 50 years.

As your mum did - he added anything that was organic (so would rot down) into the bottom of the bean-trench... newspaper was a favourite as was anything else that once lived... not including ex-members of the family though!!   :tongue2:  ::)  ;)

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sunshineband

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« Reply #186 on: August 15, 2009, 13:21 »
This year our bean area had masses of rotted /part rotted leaves from last autumn dug in, together with shredded paper. It has several gallons of water twice a week, even if it has been raining, because like Learner said, the leaf cover is so dense that not a lot of rain gets through the the soil.

Ours is not like Munty's though --- the children made two wigwams about 4 ft tall only  ::) (very sturdy  :lol: ) so now the beans are draping down and  trailing across anyhting in their wake  :D :D Looks hilarious but there are at least plenty of them  :D

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Paul Plots

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #187 on: August 15, 2009, 13:39 »
This year our bean area had masses of rotted /part rotted leaves from last autumn dug in, together with shredded paper. It has several gallons of water twice a week, even if it has been raining, because like Learner said, the leaf cover is so dense that not a lot of rain gets through the the soil.

Ours is not like Munty's though --- the children made two wigwams about 4 ft tall only  ::) (very sturdy  :lol: ) so now the beans are draping down and  trailing across anyhting in their wake  :D :D Looks hilarious but there are at least plenty of them  :D



Too be perfectly honest my Munty-frame (experiment) has not been 100% successful!!
My fault - my father grew many more bean seedlings than I/we actually needed to plant 1/2 an acre and I planted the lot!!  ::) He loves growing things and I couldn't say "thanks" and then not use them.......

Result: ........ while one end of my 30' long munty-frame is mostly successful the other 20' (!!!!) looks like a wide, pretty privet hedge of about 4' high and 3' in depth. The beans have not managed to grow up and over the frame but have lost their way amongst the other competing beans and tangled into the most amazing 4' high jungle!!

The other slight????? problem is, where the beans have made their way up and over and have pods hanging beuatifully & impressively down from above - some twit decided to make the best of the land below the frame and planted several very rampant courgettes and the traditional (for me) butternut squash. Results is = an interesting performance reaching the beans no matter where and how I try.

So.... I have learned that next year I will:
  • limit the number of bean seedlings planted per stretch of bean-frame
  • not plant things that will take up every space where I need to place my foot / feet
  • reduce the distance between the high and low sides of the munty frame
  • make the higher side of the frame higher

And.... not put the beans too close to the rasperries so as to leave room to get between them speedily....

And listen to my OH when she says, "There are just so many beans a family / friends / neighbours can eat in one year....and accept that "we" will not be freezing any again this year.....as "we" prefer to eat them in season and when they are fresh.....apparently  ::)

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Smarty

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #188 on: August 17, 2009, 14:59 »
My Munty frame has been a brilliant success too, although never having grown beans before I don't really have a comparison.

Made a mistake with mine though....planted sunflowers at each upright. Whilst this looked pretty earlier in the season some of the beans decided to take off up the sunflowers. Checking the seed packet again I realised that 'Russian Giant' are biggies. They are currently about 10 feet tall and until I very cruelly cut them off yesterday, had bean stalks (with beans!) waving madly at the top of them!

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Paul Plots

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #189 on: August 26, 2009, 20:06 »
Learner - I made the same mistake under planting  - mine were winter caulis so there is netting involved too ...  Didnt realise how big how early.  Duh!   ::)

Courgette fatigue came to my rescue..... :) The early yellow ones have gradually stopped producing so out they came and onto the compost heap.  ;) Now I can get at all the beans without hunting for a place to stick my feet amongst the foliage.

Green courgettes, planted later, are taking the place of the yellow ones so we're still picking and slicing. My runner-bean-hedge continues to bloom and show little enthusiasm for dashing off up the strings...  ::)

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Quetzal

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #190 on: August 28, 2009, 22:46 »
Celeriac under the frame = success.
Squash under the frame = disaster. I can't really get at the frame to pick the beans, the squash has grown so much.

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MoreWhisky

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #191 on: September 02, 2009, 09:24 »
Beetroot under frame total success
Spring onions got about 5 lol
Butternut squash still going )
lettuce sucessfull

Tbh the frame has been to sucessfull go so many runners cant give them away.
Are runners beans ok to go in the compost bin? and yes i have tried giving loads away ppl are getting sick of me asking now.
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JayG

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #192 on: September 07, 2009, 15:54 »
I wish I had joined this forum at the beginning of the year as this thread would have saved a lot of back pain and maybe even given me a decent bean crop.  Will be trying this frame next year though, so thanks for the idea. :)

Constructed a semi-permanent Munty frame out of angle iron this year and it has worked well.

It's a good way to train runner beans without them getting tangled up at the top of "wigwams" or inverted "V" formations, and of course access for picking is much easier.

Soil preparation is still the most important consideration for a good crop though.
Sow your seeds, plant your plants. What's the difference? A couple of weeks or more when answering possible queries!

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Auntie Rain

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #193 on: September 13, 2009, 08:19 »
Am seriously considering an alternative to the Munty frame - how about using an old rotary clothes line? Plant half a doz plants around the upright & train around the top!

It must be worth it just to see the reaction of the neighbours when it first goes in.....  :D

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Paul Plots

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Munty's one way to grow runner beans
« Reply #194 on: September 13, 2009, 23:43 »
Am seriously considering an alternative to the Munty frame - how about using an old rotary clothes line? Plant half a doz plants around the upright & train around the top!

It must be worth it just to see the reaction of the neighbours when it first goes in.....  :D


Sounds novel - plants will need loads of water and nutrients that close together though..



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