[hubballi]

This is my last hope of any produce this year and they seem to be going downhill fast. I have French and runner beans that were initially doing well. I have been monitoring the watering of late as well as not over or under feeding. Now I find they have curled into distorted shapes bent that almost make a circle with some small pitting marks on the skins. The beans have also not set on all flowers which have dropped. I have been told that I am over watering but as I have left the watering for a while as the ground is now dry they have got no better.

What can cause this ? Surely you can't go wrong with runners.

[JayG]

Runner beans won't have been enjoying the cool days and nights we've been having recently, and they certainly won't like the strong winds which we are having now which sometimes causes the recently set beans to just shrivel up.

The beans tend to not grow either as quickly or as big late in the season, and yes, slugs and snails sometimes have an exploratory nibble at them as well (especially the ones nearer the ground) which can cause pitting and/or deformity.

[mumofstig]

the French beans will like this weather even less, and curly beans seem to be one of those things, doesn't stop you eating them though

If you read the other threads you will see a lot of people have also had trouble with their beans this year I have had below average harvests for runner beans and green French beans, but purple poded have been good.

[sunshineband]

Hubbali, it seems that you have the knack of things not turning out as expected 

Now you know the reasons for this, I hope next season is far more positive 

[Ice]

Surely you can't go wrong with runners.

That's an odd statement to make only ten days after starting a thread about your yellow misshapen beans.  You can't expect them to produce perfect runners so soon after being subjected to chronic overwatering and overfeeding.  Even less so now the weather has turned.  Mother nature is not a miracle worker and there is nothing we can say or do to help at this stage.

[Aunt Sally]

I've already told you a couple of times hubballi that when plants are overwatered the roots get waterlogged and die.

The very bad news is the roots don't grow again at this time of year. , even if you dry the soil out to the correct level.

[azubah]

I did not think that  you could over water runners if they are in the ground...unless they are planted in a waterlogged area.

Hope you have more success next year.

[hubballi]

They were not over watered. Aunt Sally seems to have some magical insight into my soil ;-)

You can't over water runner beans. The soil isn't waterlogged.

[azubah]

Aunty is magical!

[Aunt Sally]

In normal circumstances it is difficult.

But from the home visit we organised we discovered that the soil was so overwatered you could squeeze it out in your hand.  This will have killed the roots and the plants will have suffered badly.

[Ice]

You can't over water runner beans.

You most certainly can over water them to the point that they get stressed and are prone to disease.

[Aunt Sally]

I think it would be a good idea for you to get a soil moisture meter hubballi, they're not expensive.

[azubah]

Or grow rice.

[hubballi]

Fair play, the French beans in the large container were checked and were too wet but not the runners.

Picked some this evening and like you say they taste ok :-)

[Aunt Sally]

I think it would be a good idea for you to get a soil moisture meter hubballi, they're not expensive.

This is my best advice