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(Best months for planting Climbing beans in New Zealand - cool/mountain regions)

• Easy to grow.
• Harvest in 65-80 days
• Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed.
• Best planted at soil temperatures between 16°C and 30°C.
• Space plants: 10-20cm

Grow beans up fences, trellis, sweet corn, trees. Almost anywhere can be 'vertically productive'. Useful video here www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/beans-sowing/

Keep well watered and pick regularly to encourage new flowers. Watch out for snails, as they will eat through the stems near ground level, and will completely eat newly sprouted beans. If you have nice new beans plants one day, and none the next, then it is probably slugs or snails.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Climbing beans

Use young in salads - blanch and cool. Will freeze well.

Your comments and tips

17 Oct 11 Coral shaw (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

Last year a green Beatle ruined my green beans. What can I use against these peaty thing?

22 Oct 11 jen (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

the last 2 years we had a great crop of runner beans untill the were attecked by the green beetle - no more beans ! help please

23 Oct 11 Liz (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)

Coral and Jen, We have resorted to taking a pot/bucket of hot soapy water to the bean frame in late afternoon and knocking any green bugs or their offspring - which are black and red - into it. There are some plants like cleome which will attract the bugs away.

21 Nov 11 richard harris (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

i have a few yellow leaves on my scarlet runners, how do i fix this.

26 Nov 11 Rex (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

As i Undrstand it and have prooved over some years beans do not require bees to polinate. However my scarlet runners this year while a mass of flowers no beans are setting. Any ideas please?.

26 Nov 11 Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)

Rex, Try spraying your plants , including the flowers, with water. Gently, like rain falling. It's a simple trick but always works.

02 Dec 11 Rex (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

Liz, I have been following your advice since the 26th No beans yet. Will keep you posted Ta.

09 Dec 11 Rex (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

Liz, I have beans, Not sure if it was my watering or the much needed rain we had last week. ta for your advice, Rex

28 Dec 11 Serena (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)

Help!! My scarlet runner beans are really unwell. They are stunted, wont climb, and are sort of multi coloured leaves, maybe mosiac virus, but they just will not grow. They have been planted in good well composted soil, and trained up a willow bean pole. The willow is still sprouting - maybe the pole is taking away all the nourishment, but then the spinach in same bed is growing well. Any advice appreciated!

13 Jan 12 Ted (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

My scarlet runner beens have not flowered very much this year.And where they have no bees have set.These were newly planted seed.