[Anton]

Fellow gardeners,

I have just prepared my patches for the runner beans and French beans. Does anybody have any idea on what intervals to sew at to avoid everthing maturing at the same time (I am also worried because the wife is compelling me to go away at the end of July, just about the time everything seems to come to fruition). My poor old tomatoes suddenly became ready for picking they day before we set off last year.

Anton

[m1ckz]

easy    dont go  man up    lol

[Anton]

Thanks for the reply (taking the) m1ckz. While I am working on my "manning up", any idea on the interval question?

Anton

[NewSteve]

Maybe I'm being naive here, but given that it's almost midsummer and the day lengths are pretty stable, I'd have thought if you sow two weeks apart the plants will mature two weeks apart.

[DD.]

You'd have thought.

However, it doesn't seem to work like that. A few years ago I sowed peas 2 weeks apart and was picking 2 days apart!

The days are actually still getting a bit longer, and will do so for over another month, and have you noticed it's actually got warmer!

[Yorkie]

I'd have thought you'd have a reasonable chance with a 3 week interval.

Or, plant dwarf beans at a later date as they don't take as long from sowing to cropping.

[Steveharford]

Anton you could consider pinching out a la a recent thread on here, which will delay the flowering and hence bean production while the plant concentrates on sending up two shoots. At least you can then, if the timings right, be back from hols before they get big , go to seed and stop producing.

[beesrus]

I'm another that seems to find small succession plantings tend to catch up with each other. 
Unless one has very friendly neighbours, holidaying at harvest time is not a good idea, but so many allotmenteers seem to do so. Priorities I guess.
 
Fortunately with runner and french beans, you can let them take their chances. Any that become available at the "wrong time" can be left in situ to harvest as dried beans.

[Anton]

Thanks for all your tips.

Anton

[Robster]

Runners and climbing beans seem to crop over quite an extended season.  I've done an early sowing (already outside now) and a late sowing (late June),  The late one going until first frost.  All the surplus blanched and in the freezer.

[Plot_29@_Lady_Mary]

I don't know when you start planting out runner beans in Belgium, but here in Cardiff, I generally sow indoors around early May and plant out mid to late May. I will still be planting out runners until early June. I have been fooled into planting out too early in the past (like mid to late April), only to see the crops get damaged by frost.
Hence, I don't get to harvest until mid August. As Robster said, runners can be harvested over an extended season. Mine goes on producing until late October! The trick is to pick them often, every other day and pick them young so that they are not stringy.

[Anton]

Lady Mary, I usually sew at the end of May (and sew some indoors to plug any gaps). There was frost here until nearly the middle of May.  When is the latest I can sew French and runner beans do you think?

Anton

[Anton]

Sorry that should be "sow"

Anton

[Plot_29@_Lady_Mary]

Keep sowing till mid June. Plant out by end of June and you'll have a bountiful harvest right through to October!

[fatcat1955]

Am i missing something here? I plant all my beans at the same time and keep picking them until the frost knocks them over. The more you pick the more they grow. Sow them together , plant them together and pick them together, if you are worried about a glut don't plant as many.