Painted Lady runner beans

[tobyrosco]

I have planted some painted lady runner beans which are growing extremely quickly! They are approximately six inches tall at the moment, and outgrowing the propagator. My problem being it is too cold to plant them out at the moment so any ideas, suggestions would be welcome.

[Kristen]

Too early I'm afraid (although would help if you could put your approximate location in your Profile pls - if you are on the Equator then they can definitely be planted out!!)

Runners (and other beans such as French) will not tolerate any frost and, that apart, hate chilly weather when they are young so even when danger of frost is past whilst the nights are still a bit chilly they might be better not planted out.

if you can get them as cold as possible, without then being below 0C, and with decent light then they will grow slowly ... but ... I still very much doubt you can keep them on the go until sometime in May when they could safely be planted out.

if you have enough seed I'd throw the ones you have and start again in April. Sorry!

[marchogaeth]

What Kristen said. The info on the back of the packet is there for a reason! If you don't have info or want to double check there are help pages at the bottom of the Grow fruit and veg homepage Grow Your Own | Growing Vegetables | Gardening Tips & Advice | GYO Fruit & Veg Magazine.

[Kristen]

The info on the back of the packet is there for a reason!

Lots of budget-price packets these days have no information on the packets. Suppliers often say that the info is available on their website, but IME although the info is there it is not as helpful as the better known brands.

Here's Premier Seeds info on Runner Bean - Painted Lady

A stunning and productive popular Heirloom variety 'Painted Lady' known for its attractive bi-coloured flowers and superior flavour. Tender, relatively short pods are bourne(sic) in abundance on vigorous 8-10ft vines in around 80 days from germination.

• Pre-prepare growing site with ample organic matter.
• Sow in early spring under-cover in warmth a single seed 1in depth per pot.
• Gradually harden off after all risk of frost has passed.
• Alternatively plant direct outside after the soil temperature is above 50F in late spring.
• Protect young plants from pests.
• Ensure plants have support to ramble (canes / wire / netting).
• Keep well watered whilst flowers are setting.
• Pick regularly to encourage the plants to keep flowering.

I think that is too vague on sowing time, doesn;t mention how long they take to mature, how many seeds you need, nor the planting distance.

I had a look at Suttons site (picked that one at random). They don't sell Painted Lady, but I picked the first Runner that came up. Their growing info includes the following, which I think either helpful or essential.

• Sow in April under glass or cloches
• outdoors in May and June
• 12-16 weeks maturity
• Packet sufficient for a double row of approximately 4.5m (15').
• Prolific, decorative plants thriving in well cultivated soils containing plenty of humus.
• Regular watering in dry periods will be amply rewarded by a heavy crop of delicious, tender young beans for table and freezing.

Separately is a chart of sowing / harvesting which also says:
Sowing Time April-June
Flower / Fruit from July-October

Only thing missing from that is planting distance ... but there is a picture of both the front and back of the packet, and that [additionally] has seed sowing depth, Germination time in days, and planting distance - plus a few other bits & pieces not mentioned on the web page itself.

[marchogaeth]

Lots of budget-price packets these days have no information on the packets.

I agree, which is why I pointed the OP to some help - you've provided a lot more. As you say the basic info is really simple to provide but quite often it's not there or you really have to search for it. Often the information can seem conflicting. Wouldn't it be nice if there was an agreed standard minimum however else the packet was then embellished? (Good old Real Seeds put stuff on the packet insert and then give you a sheet with even more to help.)

I always get cross that they don't give the germination temperature for seeds, it's something I really like to know because it can explain a lot of the results we get.

I'm not having a go at the OP but I do get a bit fed up of people who don't read the info or do a bit of basic reading about subjects before launching into things or, worse IMO read the info and then ignore it completely.

[Kristen]

I do get a bit fed up of people who don't read the info or do a bit of basic reading about subjects before launching into things

If the O/P got the seeds from Premier Seeds I think he did exactly what the instructions say and has got caught out because (as you and I know) Runners grow quickly and you actually need to sow them X-days before "last frost date" or "planting out date" (if you want to wait for a safe interval after last frost date).

Surely the point of the forum is for people who get stuck to ask questions? not to be told "The info on the back of the packet is there for a reason!" ?

[Knight of Albion]

A rookie mistake. We've all been there at some point.

Six inches, end of Feb.... You've done well to get them that high by now! Though a bit too well...
My advice, transplant them into individual larger size pots and keep them there till the last frost has gone by. The roots will have curved round but should still be okay, esp. if you tease them free a little prior to planting out.
If you get a frost, either bring the pots indoors overnight, or cover the plants in situ with newspaper.

[Knight of Albion]

PS: Reading your post again: You have them in the greenhouse now you mean? Not in your house? If the former, as above! If the latter, that could be tricky. You'd have to chance your arm and plant out.
You never know what to expect from the weather these days ...
If they were in the ground and there was a ground frost, they'd be gone.
With an air frost, you might get away with it. Sometimes you have to go for it and take a chance. What I've done in the post when I've been caught out is lean some of those plastic containers you get from greengrocers, with a newspaper in the bottom of the container, up against the sticks - this protects the plants from actual frosting on the leaves.

[SkyChild]

Don't worry OP - I'm having the same issue with sweet peas which all the articles are saying "sow now to get a head start" so I have and now have triffids in my hallway!

[Knight of Albion]

PS: You can get 35 Painted Lady runner bean seeds on ebay for £1.43 incl. postage.
It might, as the others have suggested, be a good idea to start again from scratch and put the present lot down to experience. Certainly if you're up north.

[SkyChild]

Rather than bin them...Plant them out and see what happens. If you need to start again, you need to start again.

[marchogaeth]

Surely the point of the forum is for people who get stuck to ask questions? not to be told "The info on the back of the packet is there for a reason!" ?

Well it wasn't meant in an unkind way. More just to say if it says sow in x month it's there because that's what suits the plant.

[marchogaeth]

Don't worry OP - I'm having the same issue with sweet peas which all the articles are saying "sow now to get a head start" so I have and now have triffids in my hallway!

It's being inside that causes the problem. Even a cold hallway is much more protected than outside.

[Potstubsdustbins]

So the packet says sow in the warmth in early spring. Now would that be the meteorological spring 1st March or would that be the astronomical spring 20th March. That is the question as someone famous once said.

Either way the OP has jumped the gun after all its is only 1st March tomorrow.

To give an idea I am in Nottingham and will set seed late April, I have set early before but SWMBO got all shirty when they grew up her net curtains.

[seanjamescameron]

Painted Lady has always done well for me. I do 12 plants in the greenhouse sowing them in April then when I plant out after the last frost I sow another 12 beans directly into the ground - this helps to extend the growing season.