Last year we had such a huge glut of runner beans that at
the end of the season we ended up taking just over 4kg to Dudley Zoo, for their
chimps to have as a treat. I am now known as Bean Lady at the zoo. We also decided
to not grow so many runner beans ever again, as there are only so many you can
eat without being truly sick of them as a side for every meal.
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| From the Dudley Zoo Facebook |
This year we were doing well as only Momma P had a few on
Plot 4 – and then an up-the-road-neighbour came round and asked my dad if we’d
like some. He said yes.
So now we have a lot of runner beans! I lost count and a
couple of the smaller ones went straight to compost, but I think I planted
about 30 bean plants on the plot. I gave them all an 8ft tall tepee structure
made with canes, put them all in, then promptly decided I didn’t like it. I only
had enough compost to fill half of the bed, so a quick (not so quick actually,
their customer service staff could do with some training) trip down to Homebase
to get some peat free compost, and Momma P and I spent a rainy Sunday morning
redoing the beans.
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| A new frame built by David and painted by me |
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| Cardboard and compost, and a makeshift retaining wall |
I dug them all out which was quite easy as the compost was
loose and not compacted. I then removed all the canes, put in the rest of the
compost, levelled it off, and we then put all the canes back in along the
length of the bed to make an A frame. As I had put double layer corrugated card
on the floor (as a biodegradable weed suppressant layer) before covering it
with compost we couldn’t push the canes into solid ground, so we buttressed
other canes against it – so now I have a massive, mass-engineered structure,
which will hopefully stay upright if we have wind! In theory it is in quite a
sheltered location next to the shed, thanks to the next door unoccupied plot
which is one third bramble thicket.
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| The first attempt with canes |
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| The final cane product! |
I very much prefer this new bean structure, and I hope the
Dudley Zoo chimps will appreciate the effort gone into this years bean growing!
I do get excited about picking beans as it is such a regular reliable crop, but
I just don’t think I can eat them all without help.
