Grow Your Own French Beans

Lesson 4: Looking After French Beans

Flower Power
As your French bean seedlings mature into young plants, flowers will develop. This is the point at which to start watering on a regular basis, rather than only when the weather is dry. This will encourage more flowers (and hence more pods) to form. Water carefully at the roots of the plants. Try not to splash the foliage. If you're growing climbers check that they're being supported adequately. Add extra horizontal lengths of twine if necessary.

Feeding Beans
Many gardeners recommend the use of liquid tomato feed to encourage French beans to produce more pods. Try fortnightly applications. Once the plants have reached the top of their supports, pinch out any growing tips. You want them to concentrate on producing pods, not growing beyond their supports. This is also a good time to think about sowing a fresh crop if you're growing dwarf varieties. Dwarf French beans tend to produce all their pods at once, so re-sowing at monthly intervals will ensure a regular supply all summer. Climbers naturally go on producing pods until the beginning of autumn.

Uninvited Guests
French beans are a favourite among home vegetable growers. The trouble is, they're popular with aphids, too. Green or black aphids can form colonies on growing shoots. Once established, they can weaken and distort growth. If you don't want to use chemical insecticides (after all, the whole point of home-grown veggies is their natural qualities), rub off early colonies as soon as you spot them. Or you can try blasting them off with a spray of water. Keeping weeds down will make the area less attractive to aphids. Another approach is to encourage predators, such as ladybirds, lacewings and hoverflies. The larvae of these creatures love a good feast of aphids! Growing asters, chrysanthemums, marigolds and sedums will attract friendly pest predators.

Pic: GAP Photos/Claire Davies