[Oliveview]

The neighbour was there at 8am finishing off the watering system... a drip thingy going along the rows.  Hubby went out to start and there was Juan already working.  For a man who has a disabled arm and leg he sure can work hard (he was up on the roof the other day- his sister gave him a good telling off cos he was home alone at the time!) Back to the plot...
onion, turnip seed gone in, garlic cloves and for some reason Juan insisted I planted whole large onions... will see what happens there.  Now I have to find the cabbage, lettuce and carrot seed I have put in a safe place!
Potatoes are being ´looked for´ not sure where to find them here.  We keep asking the neighbour but we think he just replants the spuds he grew the year before.
BTW  the little doggy on my picture bit is exactly the same as our Chihuahua-

[Biscombe]

Hey Oliveview!!!
I bet your as pleased as punch!! Up and running, you have your land at last!!! If you want any seeds let me know!! Just planted my potatoes (should get them be Christmas) kale, cabbage, swiss chard. I'm planting snow and snap peas today while the OH knocks a big hole in our wall for a new door! hey ho, our day's off are hectic with the garden and the building!!
All the best

[John]

Quite surreal you two - the rest of us are closing down as the season comes to the end  

[James]

Buy your potatoes from the supermarket.  Al Campo had nice potatoes last time I was there!

[Oliveview]

Got given a big bag of potatoes from the neighbour so have planted all but a few of them, hope to get the rest in today.  We shut down here for the summer for planting it seems! Been told that runner beans will not do well here, soil too sandy, any thoughts Biscombe? Was told that if we dug a trench and filled it with newspaper and potatoe peelings and planted on top of that that might work.  I thought maybe a tub or 3 or 4 tubs with a plant in would be a better idea.  Just need to get a phone line and internet and not the library and life will  be perfect!

[John]

Runner beans need 3 things to succeed
Plenty of water - so lining a trench with newspaper, vegetable waste etc provides a sponge to hold moisture, but they will need regular watering.
Cool temperatures - not sure why but they don't seem to like really hot weather (by British standards) and don't set beans - this may be related to the third requirement
Pollinating insects like bees.

If you can cover those bases, I don't see why you can't grow them.

[Biscombe]

HI Oliveview, John is right it tends to be too hot for runnerbeans! I planted scarlet emperor and from 20 plants I had 2 or 3 beans!!!! the plants looked beautiful though!!!! Here's some tips that I'm going to try!!

plant early/late (I planted some more in August!, looking good now)
choose white flowered varieties (better polonation)
spray with water (sugar water even better)
Keep well watered
The trench Idea is good!

All the best & happy gardening