Quote:
Originally Posted by Mitulove
Hello,
I'm trying to grow dwarf french beans in a pot. It's flowering quite a bit, and I've put a pot of dwarf sweet peas by it to encourage pollinators. The leaves are looking a bit sad though, and I'm wondering how long before I can tell if the flowers are actually going to go to seed.
There are a few of a certain kind of bug hanging out on the plant, and I'm wondering if they're helping by predating on pests or if they are themselves pests..I'd be grateful if you could look at the photos below  |
I would assume that those are goodies. As a rule of thumb, slow moving things are often pests, fast moving things are predators. Also pests tend to rely on producing offspring rapidly and in bulk, so you get tend to get dozens of them on each leaf.
You shouldn't have too much problem with dwarf french beans in a pot. You can tell whether the flowers are going to seed when the flowers wither and fall off - either they'll be a minute bean waiting to grow, or there won't. You could try spraying the flowers with water - there's a suggestion in another thread that runner bean set better if misted daily.
Have you considered growing climbing french beans instead? Much more bean for your pot. I have a big slug problem, so I grow my french beans in pots in the greenhouse, where they clamber all over the roof supports. They're a lot better at setting than runners.