[quote=kay;929462]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lintama
Did you pick off the tops of the plants? It's the tender bit that the blackfly are attracted to, so nipping out the tops can help. If you do it before you have a heavy infestation, the tops are edible.
Your beans are possibly a bit late - could you try sowing them earlier? Or try one of the varieties that you sow in autumn?
How good is your soil? Does it have much humus? Anything you add in that way will help water retention.
It's not a problem I have, since I'm on clay in the north, and we haven't had a summer since 2006.
The tubs and raised beds ones are going to be more of a challenge, and yes, make sure the soil in the tubs stay moist. With beans in the ground the hope is they'll get their roots down, so it doesn't matter if the top couple of inches gets dry. That's also the reason for watering copiously and less frequently, rather than giving a little every day. It is quite instructive to dig your finger into the soil after watering - you think you've given a really good watering, then you find that the top half inch is wet and you have a layer of dust under that.
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I have taken off the top three inches or so but it's a case of shutting the gate after the horse has bolted. I didn't know about the black fly liking the top young growth.
Is it possible to get a second crop of broad beans if I cut them down to about a foot high? I think I read it somewhere that it could be done.
I started the beans off in 3 inch plant pots back in early April so will do it earlier next year.
The soil, I think, is fine. Being a raised bed I added home grown compost and gave them some Miracle Grow a while back. Only did this about twice though. Same with the caulis. We have a mixed type of soil here. Some of the garden has a lot of clay and not much else and other parts and free of it. I did a PH test a few years back and the soil is alkaline.
Thanks again for the tips.