scarlet runner in warm climate question
kumquatlady
13 years ago
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cabrita
13 years agoRelated Discussions
best climate in the U.S. for Roses???
Comments (35)Iowa is not the best either. I think we have every rose enemy, blackspot, powdery mildew, RRD, occasional spider mites, Japanese Beetles, crown gall, I am sure others too. Gardeners seem to admire someone who can grow clean looking roses, because most people can't do it. So if you are looking for a challenging environment, try Iowa. My parents are now in Arizona, and in the spring time their roses look great, and are tall with lots of flowers, and no diseases. They have a drip system for watering. My sister in Colorado Springs probably has an almost ideal environment. It is not humid. The summers are not as warm. They do not have disease issues like we do here. They might have critter issues, esp. deer. But you need to water, and she doesn't, and the roses I have seen there in mid-summer are disease free, and flower free. Regular watering would turn that around....See MoreRunner beans - so many different types?
Comments (58)"... Then I tried some when the hulls were yellow and almost felt like the bean should have been pealed." That has been my observation also, for most of the runner beans I've tried as shellies. That, and the "off" flavor of many of them, had me questioning whether runner bean seeds were really suited for use as shellies. Now I suspect that those issues can largely be overcome, whether by choice of variety, level of maturity at harvest, or means of preparation. This is, IMO, mostly uncharted territory, so there is still a lot of research & experimentation yet to be done. The beans are so large & visually appealing, it would be wonderful if their flavor could be made to match their appearance. My hope is that canning will prove to soften the skins of the mature beans. I've never been very fond of canning vegetables, since I prefer the fresh flavor of frozen produce... but in the case of runner bean shellies, canning might improve their palatability. Who knows, the pressure cooking itself might yield favorable results. I'm looking forward to experimenting, provided that I have enough beans next year to do so....See Morescarlet runners not making pods
Comments (17)Well, I'm picking up this subject realizing that the last entry was in 2008! I come from England and have always had great success with scarlet runners there. Here in N California, that is not so! For 2 years running, I have had hardly any pods forming, dammit! After much theorizing about the negative effects of high summer temp's here (E.g., ave. temp in July is around 93) - which I don't find convincing, as the original runner bean did I believe come from sub-tropical S America; and noting that all my other fruits and veg's are doing amazingly well in my deep and/or raised beds, including bush beans - MY theory is: humming birds! We have many of thse beautiful but, as far as the runner beans go, PESKY critters in our yard, and I observe that they have a distinct preference for the scarlet, and scarlet & white, flowers. I think they're using their long tongues to take the nectar, which they don't enter the flowers to do - unlike the beneficial bees, who effect the cross-pollination by actually entering the flower and getting pollen on their bodies, transferring it to the next flower, and so on ... SO, when the humming bird's been a-calling, there's no nectar left for the bees, who seem to know that ... I see them hovering at the lip of the flower momentarily, then going on their busy/buzzy way! Solution!?: I'm experimenting with netting, which has mesh just wide enough to admit bees, but not birds - even the diminutive humming ones! I know bees are getting through the mesh, because I put a couple of rows of bush beans between the rows of beansticks, and they are producing like Billy-O, as we say in Britain. I'm now waiting to see if I get any pods forming on the runners ... five days, and no sign of any yet. Hmph! The other thing that's happening is that the bean-tendrils have started to climb through the mesh, so I now have protected bean flowers inside the mesh, and an increasing number of unprotected ones outside it, reaching for the sky! Regardng all of the above, the best case scenario is: I will get lots of beans forming inside the mesh, and the beautiful humming birds will still get to nosh on runner bean nectar from the ones 'beyond the pale'! Watch this space ......See MoreInsuk's Wang Kong (Runner bean)
Comments (151)Here are the IWK beans and the rustic trellis I built for them. I am getting my first flowers. You might see that some of the leaves look really bad. I planted last october and they grew OK, but then completely stopped growth. They did not grow at all for about 3 months. They also seem to be afflicted with something (? not sure what?) and I really thought I was going to lose them. Ever since the spring equinox we got small fresh leaves that started to sprout/grow and they are looking much better. I even got my first flowers. I am really curious if anyone has observed this apparent sensitivity to day length? I suppose for me the best would be to plant on the winter solstice? or a bit after? In case you are curious it is celery, parsley and cilantro interplanted with them....See Morekumquatlady
13 years agoflora_uk
13 years agokumquatlady
13 years agoflora_uk
13 years agochaman
13 years agoneohippie
13 years agopaul Whelan
3 years ago
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