Runner Bean Plant Polestar

A runner bean with a good habit, excellent flavour, stringless and an extended cropping season! These beans havevery fleshy pods which tend to be stringless if you pick them at a good size and don't let them get ridiculously long.

For the best of their flavour and sweetness we recommend that you pick when they are no longer than 6"- 8" (15 - 20 cm). These beans even persuaded Stephen that actually he did like runner beans - after years of not eating them!

Despite their long season you can grow these in tubs in a greenhouse to get you started even earlier!

Can be eaten in salads, or steamed and used as a vegetable, simply delicious.

Recommended by the RHS to be an excellent attractant and nectar source for bees and other beneficial insects.

• For Runner Beans In Rows
• Set out late May or June 9" (23 cm) apart in rows 18" (45 cm) apart.
• Provide support for these to climb up to a height of around 6 - 8 feet (1.8 - 2.4 metres) using netting, a bamboo cane structure or similar.

• For Runner Bean Teepees
• Using a dustbin lid or similar as a template, drive into the ground six eight foot canes and tie together at the top to produce a conical effect.
• Plant at the foot of each cane.

• Top Tips
• Runner beans are deep rooted and love a rich, well drained but moisture retentive soil so consider making a 'bean trench' over the winter.
• Don't be in a hurry to plant outside early as Runner Beans don't like the cold.
• Mulch around the plants to conserve water and keep well watered from flowering time onwards.
• Excessively warm temperatures, particularly at night may inhibit bean formation by preventing pollen grains from germinating. Whilst syringing flowers does not help pod set it may help cool the flowers if done late in the evening, though improved cropping should resume with cooler night temperatures.
• Can be grown using the 'Three Sisters' method; the beans can climb up the sweetcorn plants if you are short on growing space.