Kitchen Garden Forum

I have planted some giant sunflower seeds and I am wondering if I could
plant some climbing peas or beans around to climb up them? Has anyone tried it?

I have also just planted a row of Shimonata japanese dual purpose onions,
the thinnings are eaten as spring onions and others are left to mature into leek like onions, to be used for soup etc in the autumn. Has anyone else tried these, any tips?

Hi NB

1) I haven't tried this - the only problem I can imagine is that if the peas/beans attach themselves to the sunflower stems they will be pulled up as the sunflower grows rapidly upwards. Maybe I'm totally wrong

2) Shimonita I have grown for a year or so before giving them up last year. Marshall's write up says:

These very hardy Japanese spring onions are dual purpose.

From a late summer sowing they can be pulled young as spring onions (use thinnings in this way) or left in the ground to mature and harvested as large, leek like onions.

A tasty addition to salads, stir-fries and wherever you need a great fresh onion flavour.

Actually I have only ever used them as "bunching onions", fairly young and stir-fried. If left to mature they just become "fat spring onions" rather than "leek-like" and do tend to go to seed fairly soon after the winter. Another example of seed merchant's hype. They are only "large" compared to other spring onions and certainly not "leek-like" in taste. Having said that, they are a good grower for their primary purpose, and well flavoured.

Thank you Alan, good suggestion, I will try to let the sunflowers get away a bit first then try the climbing peas or beans

Dear Nature's Babe, i would also plant the beans about 18 inches away from the suflower, and train them across, this should give them a chance to compete with the vigourous roots of the sunflower.

I think, beans would keep pace with the sunflower as, the sunflower shold be making the height growth from the top.

oldherbaceous wrote:
I think, beans would keep pace with the sunflower as, the sunflower shold be making the height growth from the top.

Now why didn't I think of that

Thank you guys, smiling, thinking of sunflowers doing their morning stretch !