Bean Today, Gone Tomorrow

[Avalon]

What's happening? Can anyone familiar with growing runner beans help me out?

I've got a few of the plants growing and they've been sporting red flowers for a while. So far, so good. But a few have finished and dropped off, and I checked them today to see how big the beans are.

But there are none - where the flowers used to be there are just... flower-stalks. No bean. What's happening here? My pet theory is that the plants haven't been pollinated - are my suspicions correct, d'you think?

Help would be appreciated as I've still got a lot of flowers still doing their thing, so may be able to salvage the situation.

Thanks in advance,

H

[grahamhobbs]

I think everyone is experiencing the same this year, beans often do not 'set' in hot dry weather. A trick is to spray them with water in the evening, it's supposed to help. Well mine have started to come after doing this.

[pumpy]

Don't panic...... don't panic!! Aparently it's a widespread problem this year. It appears to be a combination of things, i.e.; a late spring (soil slow to warm up after an unusualy cold winter,) now we have this hot dry spell which doesn't encourge the pollen to produce properly. Added to that a possible reduction in pollinating insects & maybe a lack of nutrients in the ground (coupled with a lack of water)........... blimey, that's enough to be going on with! If it's any consolation, i've had the problem this year, but these last couple of days i have loads of baby beans on the higher "trusses", & i have'nt done anything differently. So don't give up. Good luck

[citizentwiglet]

Ahh, that may well explain why my climbing french beans only have beans at the very top, then.

[Millymollymandy]

I do seem to have this innate ability to not grow the veg which will be affected by climate that year - how I know this in advance I absolutely do not know . The wet year (here) in 2007 I didn't grow either spuds or toms and everybody had all their spuds and toms wiped out by blight. This year no runner beans, which of course hate hot weather, which is why they aren't generally known in France.

[Keaniebean]

Don't panic...... don't panic!! Aparently it's a widespread problem this year. It appears to be a combination of things, i.e.; a late spring (soil slow to warm up after an unusualy cold winter,) now we have this hot dry spell which doesn't encourge the pollen to produce properly. Added to that a possible reduction in pollinating insects & maybe a lack of nutrients in the ground (coupled with a lack of water)........... blimey, that's enough to be going on with! If it's any consolation, i've had the problem this year, but these last couple of days i have loads of baby beans on the higher "trusses", & i have'nt done anything differently. So don't give up. Good luck

Ah that's interesting, I thought it was just me, I'm off out to plant some more to see if they will produce me some beans, hopefully now its a little later in the year we should get some rain (fingers crossed) and some cooler weather.

[bonniethomas06]

Ah! Is that what it is!!?

I had been blaming the birds for nibbling the immature beans. I spent ages at the weekend rigging up bird scarers and an elaborate structure involving beer bottles, bamboo canes and netting. I was so annoyed I even told the cat to go for her life

I may start 6 or so plants off now to see if I can extend the season a bit.

[Avalon]

Oh, thank you everyone!

[battybird]

Our beans are also only producing at the top of the plants...reasonably good crop there!! Healthy looking leaves lower down but no flowers and no beans! But as a bonus (or compensation??) there are several tomato plants self seeded under the beans which are growing well in the shade of the beans which we are hoping will provide a slightly later crop. They seem a bit slower than all the other tomato plants we planted elsewhere.