French Beans in Containers

[Geoff]

I have grown 10 Cobra in tall pots in the heated greenhouse with the intention of planting them out in the cold greenhouse. I am now wondering about growing them in containers instead for two reasons; I could keep them in the hgh a bit longer and when I need the space in the cgh I could put them outside. I made some tubs last year about 12" square and 13" deep and was wondering about 4 plants with a cane at each corner. Anybody tried anything like this?

[Lyn]

Hi - yes, I always have a couple of tubs of climbing French beans, growing up wigwams of canes. The only thing to be aware of is that they need VERY frequent watering. Also keep them protected from high winds, otherise they blow over. Extra liquid feed once the beans are developing is beneficial. Best of luck!
Regards, Lyn

[Primrose]

A container wigwam worked with sweet peas although mine probably wasn't quite big enough and as Lyn says, it should be OK provided you can prevent the compost drying out. You will need to locate them in a non-windy place though, because once the weight of the beans & foliage is taken into account, a heavy wind could blow them over. Obviously the deeper the container, to anchor the poles, the better.

[tricia]

I grew Cherokee Trail of Tears in large tubs last year. As other posters have said, they need constant watering and feeding every couple of weeks once they are fruiting. I had an enormous crop from 10 plants in two tubs.

For this year I am using only one tub and have already prepared it by filling it with one third well-rotted manure, then plenty of scrunched up newspaper and half the contents of a growbag. It is covered and waiting for May when I shall be ready to plant out the yet to be sown French beans.