Focus on… Runner beans
AN annual feature on any vegetable plot, runner beans can be sown now and are utterly delicious when the pods are picked at a young and tender age. The pitfalls are easy to avoid if you know how, so let me divulge how to ensure a summer full of beans!
Better beans on the scene
Plant breeders have done gardeners proud in recent years. While older varieties flowered late in the summer, modern types develop earlier blooms due to boffins adjusting the bean’s sensitivity to day length. Drought resistance is improving, too. Red-flowered varieties were once shallow rooted compared with their white-flowered counterparts, but breeding has now blurred the boundaries.
“Modern runner beans develop earlier blooms”
By far the most exciting development has been the crossing of runner and French beans. This British-led breeding programme has introduced some real positives in recent years, such as ‘Moonlight’ and ‘Stardust’ (both white
