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Free lessonGrow your own vegetables · lesson 6 of 10

Beans and peas

Runner beans, French beans, broad beans and peas: when to sow, how to support them, beating blackfly, and picking to keep them cropping.

Key points

Runner beansRich soil (two bucketfuls of compost per m²), 2.5 m canes, plant out after frost (late May–early June), water at flowering.
Broad beansLate autumn in mild areas or spring; pinch out tips when the lowest pods form, against blackfly; stake and string.
PeasSow spring to early summer; support with twiggy sticks or netting.
French beansDwarf (no support, good in pots) or climbing; tender: after frost.
PickingEvery two to three days; runner beans at about 20–25 cm; leave roots in the ground.

Summary

CropSowSupportTip
Runner beansLate Apr–May indoors; mid-May–June outside2.5 m canesWater at flowering
French beansIndoors, or outside in warm soilDwarf: none; climbing: canesGood in pots
Broad beansLate autumn (mild areas) or springStakes and stringPinch tips against blackfly
PeasSpring to early summerTwiggy sticks or nettingPick young

Quick check

When should broad bean tips be pinched out?
  1. As soon as they come up
  2. Before they flower
  3. Never
  4. When the lowest flowers have formed pods
Answer: D. It directs energy to pods and deters blackfly.
Why pick runner beans every two or three days?
  1. Mature pods make the plant stop producing
  2. Old pods are poisonous
  3. The canes can't hold them
  4. Slugs eat old pods
Answer: A. Regular picking keeps it cropping.
When can runner beans go outside?
  1. As early as February
  2. Any time once they're a week old
  3. Once there's no longer any risk of frost
  4. Only in autumn
Answer: C. Late May to early June in most of the UK.

In your garden

  • Plan where a 2.5 m row of canes can go without shading other crops.
  • Sow a pot of dwarf French beans.
  • Collect twiggy sticks for peas from your pruning.

Video transcript

Beans and peas give big harvests from a small space, and they feed the soil too. In this lesson: runner beans, French beans, broad beans and peas.

Runner beans are hungry and thirsty. Dig in at least two bucketfuls of compost or manure per square metre. Build a row of canes about two point five metres tall, two rows tied together at the top. Sow indoors in late April or May, or outside from mid-May in the south and early June in the north, and plant out once there's no risk of frost. Water well, especially when they're flowering and forming pods.

Broad beans are tough. In mild areas they can be sown in late autumn for a crop as early as May, or sown in spring. When the lowest flowers have formed pods, pinch out the tips: it puts energy into the pods and removes the soft tips that blackfly love. Support them with stakes and string. Peas are sown from spring to early summer and climb twiggy sticks or netting. Pick both young, when they're sweetest.

French beans come as dwarf types, which need no support, or climbing types, which need canes like runners. They're tender, so sow them indoors, or outside once the soil is warm, and plant out after the frost. Dwarf French beans are one of the best crops for containers.

The secret with beans is to pick every two to three days. If pods are left to mature, the plant stops producing. Pick runner beans young and tender, about twenty to twenty five centimetres long, before the beans inside swell. At the end of the season, cut the plants off at ground level and leave the roots in, because they've added nitrogen to the soil for the next crop.

This is one of 10 lessons in Grow your own vegetables

The full course adds sorting drills, flashcards and a printable summary sheet for every lesson.

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