leggy runner beans

3759allen · « **on:** April 16, 2013, 22:16 »

i've planted runner beans in pots, i was going to delay planting out for a couple of weeks to make sure the frosts have well and truly gone.

but they seem to be getting very leggy, a lot of stem (about a foot) with a cluster of leaf on top. is this normal, and will they be ok left growing on the poly tunnel floor for now?

will they produce a decent crop once in their final growing place?

All i've done is water them once a day while they've been on a sunny window sill, didn't think you could go far wrong with that.

thanks for any advice.

gavinjconway · « **Reply #1 on:** April 16, 2013, 22:26 »

I would bin them and start again in a couple of weeks. You were a tad early.

3759allen · « **Reply #2 on:** April 16, 2013, 22:52 »

may well do that. i'm very new to all this growing malarkey.

will they not produce beans if they are leggy then?

am i right in thinking that heat makes them leggy? if so i may struggle trying to get light with out the heat.

i also have tomatoes and cucumbers growing in a hot room, i assumed these would like heat as they need heat to fruit. but i don't want them to go leggy as well.

allotmentann · « **Reply #3 on:** April 17, 2013, 07:00 »

Leggy toms are not too much of a problem as you can repot them right up to their first set of leaves (in fact, they quite like it as they can put out roots from the whole length of stem).
Not sure about your cukes as they are temperamental and susceptible to damping off, if you can't keep them in pretty near perfect condition it is probably not worth it.
I am sure that you would still get fruit from leggy beans, the problem is that they grow fast and it is really hard to look after them indoors. You will probably get away with them in the poly as long as there is no ground frost, if it looks like it might get cold you could throw fleece over them, but to be honest one whiff of frost and you can lose the lot over night (I know - from experience!

).
Warmth does seem to make things go leggier faster. My seedlings on my cold, but light, window sill go leggier far slower than my friends on their warm window sill. I think light rather than warmth (unless it is really, really cold) is often more important for good seedlings.

JayG · « **Reply #4 on:** April 17, 2013, 07:30 »

Allotmentann is spot on - warmth promotes the initial germination and then growth - the amount of warmth needs to be balanced with sufficient light to enable the growth to be strong - that's not alway easy to achieve indoors which is why they sometimes become weak, leggy, and start leaning towards the light (they know they're not getting enough!)

That's why the aluminium foil "trick" is helpful, as DD is possibly getting a little weary of repeating

, although somewhere a little cooler may also be required, bearing in mind that the tender summer crops won't thank you if they get below around 15C and will definitely suffer if it gets below 10C.

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leggy runner beans

3759allen

leggy runner beans

gavinjconway

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3759allen

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allotmentann

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JayG

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