Runner beans are one of the easiest of all vegetables to grow, they will climb up just about anything. Young, fresh grown runner beans taste much nicer than shop bought beans.

How To Grow

Runner beans are best sown outdoors a week before the last frost. They need a support to climb up so erect a support structure for the plants before sowing. Slope bamboo canes so that they meet in the middle and tie them there so that the ends of the canes extend beyond the row, this will make picking easier and the yield is usually better. Sew two seeds at the base of each pole. Beans can also be grown up single rows of netting stapled to timber uprights at 90cm spacings, sow the seeds at 30cm intervals along the net.

How/When To Harvesting

Runner beans are best picked while they’re still young and tender when the pods are 15-20cm long and before the beans inside begin to swell. Pick regularly to prevent any pods reaching maturity; once this happens plants will stop flowering and no more pods will be set. If you pick regularly, harvest can be as long as eight weeks.