Lynn,

I think it has been pretty trying all over. I don't know that I can remember another year with so many different weather-related issues.

It is hard to advise someone on plants that you can't see. With the pole beans, if their new growth looks healthy and the disease is not progressing onto it, I'd let them stay and see if they produce. If the disease issues are continually spreading to new foliage, I'd take them out and replace them.

Bush beans are a bit iffier. They tend to produce over a fairly concentrated time (3 to 6 weeks) so if they have issues, I'd replace them because they probably lack the vigor at this point to produce heavily.

Now to answer your specific questions:

* No, your bean season is not over. You still have time to plant pole beans through the end of this month, but I'd choose some with shorter DTMs. You can plant bush beans through about the second week in August, although the sooner the better in case Mother Nature throws an early first fall frost at us.

* Yes, you can plant in the same place. If the choice is to replant in the same place or not replant at all, I'd replant in the same place but I'd be sure I removed all the old plant debris first, and then I'd mulch the new plants heavily with straw or hay to keep rain or irrigation water from splashing from the soil up onto them and possibly spreading disease that way. (That's assuming it ever rains again.) I plant pole beans in virtually the same place every year because that's where the 50'-long trellis is (and I am not going to move it every year), and I don't see a disease carryover issue.

* Without knowing what diseases are affecting your beans, it is hard to know if the disease could be seedborne. The general rule is not to save seeds from diseased plants, but in the real world, people do it.

I don't know that there's anything you're not considering. I'd say your bean problems are undoubtedly a result of the combination of heavy rainfall at some points in the growing season, accompanied by or followed by extraordinarily high humidity and heat indices. Luckily, summers this miserable are rare.

Beans grow well in containers, but they require very close attention to watering in August and sometimes into September if rain is not falling.

There are different challenges every year. You probably will have a great bean year next year, but something else will go haywire. It always does. Gardening is an inexact science and the weather throws all kinds of curve balls our way. That's how you learn and broaden your experience as a gardener, though, by facing each year's challenges and learning from them. You never stop learning.

Dawn

Lynn,

I think it has been pretty trying all over. I don't know that I can remember another year with so many different weather-related issues.

It is hard to advise someone on plants that you can't see. With the pole beans, if their new growth looks healthy and the disease is not progressing onto it, I'd let them stay and see if they produce. If the disease issues are continually spreading to new foliage, I'd take them out and replace them.

Bush beans are a bit iffier. They tend to produce over a fairly concentrated time (3 to 6 weeks) so if they have issues, I'd replace them because they probably lack the vigor at this point to produce heavily.

Now to answer your specific questions:

* No, your bean season is not over. You still have time to plant pole beans through the end of this month, but I'd choose some with shorter DTMs. You can plant bush beans through about the second week in August, although the sooner the better in case Mother Nature throws an early first fall frost at us.

* Yes, you can plant in the same place. If the choice is to replant in the same place or not replant at all, I'd replant in the same place but I'd be sure I removed all the old plant debris first, and then I'd mulch the new plants heavily with straw or hay to keep rain or irrigation water from splashing from the soil up onto them and possibly spreading disease that way. (That's assuming it ever rains again.) I plant pole beans in virtually the same place every year because that's where the 50'-long trellis is (and I am not going to move it every year), and I don't see a disease carryover issue.

* Without knowing what diseases are affecting your beans, it is hard to know if the disease could be seedborne. The general rule is not to save seeds from diseased plants, but in the real world, people do it and sometimes they regret it and other times they have no problems. If you want to reuse the seed, you could dust the seeds with sulphur if you have the powder type of sulphur before you plant.

I don't know that there's anything you're not considering. I'd say your bean problems are undoubtedly a result of the combination of heavy rainfall at some points in the growing season, accompanied by or followed by extraordinarily high humidity and heat indices. Luckily, summers this miserable are rare.

Beans grow well in containers, but they require very close attention to watering in August and sometimes into September if rain is not falling.

There are different challenges every year. You probably will have a great bean year next year, but something else will go haywire. It always does. Gardening is an inexact science and the weather throws all kinds of curve balls our way. That's how you learn and broaden your experience as a gardener, though, by facing each year's challenges and learning from them. You never stop learning.

Dawn

Lynn,

I had trouble posting my response earlier, and now you've got it twice. I meant to add the following:

If you don't have healthy, disease-free seeds and need some, e-mail me through 'My Page' here at GW and I'll be happy to send you some bush bean and pole bean seeds.

Dawn

Dawn,

Forgive me for being so late to tell you thank you for the advice about my green beans. I didn't get on the computer much over the weekend. I messed up my back by (of all things) lifting a watermelon into my shopping cart at the grocery store last week. It's crazy how the least little thing can whack the back.

Anyway, I've played dash and grab (due to the heat) ripping out almost all the beans and have since replanted. The soil is so warm that the new bush beans were spouting in just 4 days. I was so disappointed to have to discard the pole beans as they had completely filled in a cattle panel arch and made a very pretty entrance into my main garden. Unfortunately, I had heavily planted the fortex and italian romano beans on the cattle panels so I had no extras left over to re-plant. I decided not to use what few beans that grew on the diseased plants.

I hope the fall growing season will bring bumper crops (not that I'll be holding my breath, lol) as I'd really love to be able to freeze some green beans for use this winter. I'm dreaming of spicy szechwan green beans even now.

Thanks again for taking time from your marathon canning sessions to give me some options to my dilemma. I appreciate your help as always.

Lynn

P.S. Seedmama, thanks for your email too!

Lynn

Lynn,

I hope your back is feeling better. You know, I've heard of people hurting their back just by being bent over at an odd angle while sneezing. Backs are funny that way.

I hope your fall green beans do well and that disease and pests stay away.

I have several rows of gorgeous green bean plants 7' tall on their trellises and fear the massive influx of ravenous grasshoppers is about to gobble them up. They are stripping leaves off the plants faster than new leaves can grow, so it seems like a losing battle. Even worse, the hoppers will be with us until it gets cold enough to freeze.

I might try replanting some more beans for fall if I can find a way to drive away (not likely) or kill (even less likely) the evil grasshoppers.

I have to take a break from canning now and then or the hot, steamy kitchen turns me into a cranky kitchen witch.

Dawn