Once the plant moves into flowering mode, then water well. Feed container grown plants once beans start to form — tomato fertiliser is good as it is high in potash that encourages fruiting.
This means that they do not need a nitrogen rich soil or fertiliser. When the crop is finished, cut the plants off above ground and compost them but dig the roots back into the soil to make the nitrogen available to the next crop.
Germination: Runner beans need water to germinate but do not need any other special conditions or treatment; they will germinate in the dark underground or in the light. At this time of year you can still sow seeds, which will produce a good harvest of succulent pods, or you can buy young plants. To get the best runner bean harvest, make sure you plant them in a sunny spot with moist, well-drained soil. Runner beans are hungry plants, so grow them in a rich soil, incorporated with plenty of well-rotted compost or farmyard manure.
Either sow these directly in the soil or into modular seed trays or pots of peat-free, multi-purpose compost to germinate indoors. Water the young plants regularly as they grow. They will be ready to plant out when the roots of the plants are well developed, but not pot-bound in the container. Before planting out, wait for all risk of frost to pass, and acclimatise them to outdoor temperatures for a week, by taking them out during the day and bringing them in again at night.
If you prefer to start your runner beans off indoors, sow the seeds in April. Just fill a small pot with seed compost and make a hole of about 5cm 2" deep. Drop in a runner bean seed before backfilling the hole with compost and watering it in.
The seeds germinate in about a week and grow surprisingly quickly. Before planting out, check your bean plants are fully rooted into their pots, and do keep a close eye on the weather to ensure that all risk of frost has passed. In most parts of the UK, this will be from around the end of May. Sow runner beans directly into the ground from May to July. Sow them at a depth of 5cm 2" at 30cm 12" intervals in rows 45cm 18" apart. If space is limited, try growing your runner beans in containers or against a wigwam structure made from canes; this also makes an eye-catching feature for your flower borders.
If these plants aren't needed you can always give them to your friends. If there are too many to eat freeze or compost the excess to encourage further fruiting. Always crop the Beans regularly, even if not required, keep picking or the pods left will reduce the new growth and shorten the season.
Even the smallest garden can produce Runner Beans. Grow up trellis or rose arches with plants in soil, pots or grow bags. Storage: Will keep in the fridge for a few days. If you want to freeze them place individually on a tray till frozen through and then transfer to a bag. Some people say to blanch them first but we find this produces a soggy bean when de-frosted. Cooking: Runner beans can be boiled or steamed.
To boil, bring a pan of water to the boil, add the prepared beans and cook for 5 - 10 minutes or until just tender but still crisp. To steam, place the beans in a steamer and cook for 8 - 12 minutes or until just tender but still crisp. All our videos are filmed over a full season so you can see the sowing, planting, crop care and harvesting stages.
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