Robert (Plymouth) wrote:

We always sow runner beans in pots outside and transplant them as some
little bugs always eat the seed in the ground. Transplanting is
reasonably quick and almost 100% effective, wind and slugs causing a
minimal loss.


Back in England I used to start off the runner beans in individual pots
in the greenhouse. Since living in France I always plant the seeds
directly into the ground with great success. There tends to be some slug
damage to the seedlings despite a scattering of slug pellets, and some
are nibbled right back to the stem, but they seem to grow faster than
the pests eating them. They are now around three feet high with a few
flowering. Maybe they would be a little more advanced with my old
method, but at the moment there is no shortage of other veg to eat in
the garden and by the end of the season we will undoubtedly be sick of
the sight of runner beans anyway. It was always a lot of faff watering
the individual pots and tending them - especially when they get leggy
prior to planting out.

--
David in Normandy.
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