"Andrew Gabb" wrote in message
...
loosecanon wrote:
Best time to plant beans in Perth is after the last frost. Usually this
is
in August-September. I have always found that subsequent crops planted
after
this date don't do as well. I guess because this is the hottest 3 months.
Although I have planted bean seeds on the 11 February 2006, 2 days before
the full moon. They are healthy and growing well. Hopefully I will enjoy
a
good crop.

For the last two years I've planted a second round of Pioneer dwarfs in
January in Adelaide, and this year's been hot and mostly dry. I've had a
good crop each time (picked the first today), although it didn't last
long. Planted them on 13/1 - never seen dwarf beans grow so fast or so
high.

BTW, here's a trick I accidentally found for myself. I got sick of staking
the beans, which is a bit messy when they're 10cm apart. So I now fix a
length of what's called 'traintrack' (5cm) from 3 stakes about 25-30 cm
off the ground, and train the growing beans through the gap - no tying.
Works a charm!

I think 'traintrack' is normally used for reinforcing brickwork, and you
get it from building suppliers (that's what they call it, too). It
consists of light galv struts, with connecting struts every so often. The
ones I get are about 3m long and come in various widths. I've used wider
sections as temporary trellising (for eg peas) for years.

Andrew

Thanks for that You may have saved this years crop of broad beans.
Jim

--
Andrew Gabb
email: Adelaide, South Australia
phone: +61 8 8342-1021, fax: +61 8 8269-3280
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