French beans grow very slow

mudxfxa

Hi:

My french beans grow very slow, any advice to make them grow quicker?

Many Thanks

redser7

What's the story behind them?
When were they sown? In the ground or containers? Do they have much compost/manure/fertiliser? What type are they? Are they outdoors or under cover? Have you been watering and feeding them? Did you give them support?

mudxfxa

redser7 wrote: »

What's the story behind them?
When were they sown? In the ground or containers? Do they have much compost/manure/fertiliser? What type are they? Are they outdoors or under cover? Have you been watering and feeding them? Did you give them support?

Thanks redser7,

I bought seedling from B&Q, then I planted them into the soil in the garden, they're just french beans, not the dwarf ones, I'm watering them every night if it's not raining.

What kind of compost/manure/fertiliser should I buy? Can I buy from shops?

They're not tall, so no support for them for the moment.

redser7

Hi, Yes, beans would be grown up poles, like bamboo sticks. They twine themselves around them as they grow upwards.
They are hungry plants so there should be plenty of compost or manure in the soil when you plant them. If they are not long in the ground you could carefully dig them up. Dont break the roots. Make the hole bigger and then add plenty of compost to the hole. Then replant them and keep the watering up when it doesn't rain. It is better to give them a good deep watering every few days, rather than a little water every day. This way the roots will grow down deep the way they like to.
Good luck

http://www.rhs.org.uk/Gardening/Grow-Your-Own/Veg-A-to-Z/French-beans

If you try it again next year, sow your own seeds! It's Much cheaper and satisfying. Cobra is a brilliant variety. You can get them in Woodies or B&Q.

mudxfxa

Thanks again redser7, great tips, will follow the advice and hopefully they can grow faster

Northumbria

It's been a cool year so far and watering every night will just cool the soil further. I'd water every other day unless the weather is very hot and the soil is at risk of drying out.
They might be a bit slow at first anyway, some plants take a while to adjust to their new settings. Once the roots establish they'll get going.

Supercell

My mangetout is flying this year but the runners are a no go , barely 10cm off the ground. I've moved the extra mangetout i had intended thinning out over with the runners. Planted some yellow beans also i got from aldi (forget the name) a few weeks back and they are doing better than the runners. I didn't put enough compost and manure down with the runner beans and the soil isn't in as good a place , lesson learned.

yellowlabrador

The old fashioned way to grow beans is to dig a trench in the autumn of about a foot deep. Line it with newspaper and then fill the trench with layers of rotted manure and composted stuff in layers. In the spring, start the beans in April, no sooner because they need warmth and plant them up towards the end of May. In the old allotments in my youth:eek:, the old boys would have a sturdy frame in place made of wood and about 8 ft tall and they would then run string down to the plants. The main reason for the trench is to provide plenty of nutrition and moisture, don't forget that they fix nitrogen in the soil. If you dig the roots up, you can see little nodules that store nitrogen. If you plant them in a tunnel and protect the plants, you can overwinter them and have an earlier start.
I just love runners and it's always such a treat to eat the first plateful and then pick away all summer.

mudxfxa

Thanks for all the tips, now the bean grows about 1 meter high