VARIETIES TO TRY

‘Red Rum’: A reliable selfsetting, red-flowered runner happy to produced large crops despite indifferent weather.

‘Enorma’: An exhibitor’s favourite, this red-flowered runner is a great choice for long beans. ‘Armstrong’ is an improved, stringless version of it.

‘White Lady’: White flowered varieties are well-known for setting best when weather turns hot and dry. Expect good clusters of long, straight, stringless pods.

‘Firestorm’: A self-fertile runner bean with red flowers which is said to set well even in hot or cold, wet weather. Stringless beans which are tender and sweet.

Watch Out For

Slugs and snails: These often home in on seedlings and young plants, so pick or trap them, or use ferric phosphate slug pellets (sparingly).

Black bean aphids: These are usually taken care of by naturally occurring parasites and predators when a natural balance is maintained.

Bean rust: This shows as rust pustules on leaf undersides but is only usually troublesome as beans grow older. Dispose of infected material.