Tag Archives: runner beans

How to Freeze Runner Beans Without Blanching

How to Freeze Runner Beans Without Blanching

All gardeners will have been faced with this problem at some point in their garden, and to be honest it’s not a bad problem to have. You’ve grown a few runner bean plants and they’ve massively over produced. You don’t have time to blanche them so what do you do? Well here’s the answer to your problem, how to freeze runner beans without blanching. It’s quick, simple and saves wasting all those wonderful runner beans you’ve grown. This easy step by step guide is all you need to freeze runner beans (as long as you have a freezer). How to… → Read More

Amaranth Companion Plants

Amaranth Companion Plants

Grown extensively throughout South America as a cereal crop, amaranth grows well in the UK during Summertime. The leaves and seeds are edible and the plant is decorative enough to grow in the flower bed. Most plants do better if grown with other, helpful plants, read on to benefit from amaranth companion plants. Amaranth Companion Plants In it’s native lands, amaranth is a perennial plant but here in the UK it only grows as an annual. This gives us a short season between frosts, so it’s companions will also be warm weather crops as well. Amaranth companion plants include:- Cucumbers… → Read More

Companion Planting Beetroot

Companion Planting Beetroot

Beetroots are easy to grow and a very versatile vegetable, with no waste as both the roots and leaves can be consumed. Companion planting beetroot is a good way of maximising garden space and protecting your beetroot crop from pests. Companion Planting Beetroot A reasonably trouble free plant when it comes to pests and diseases but versatile in what it is compatible with. Due to the various colours available beetroots can be grown in amongst flowers as well as with other vegetables. There are varieties with deep purple stems and colours ranging from purple, red, yellow, and white are also… → Read More

Growing Plants For Pollinators And Why It’s Important

Growing plants for pollinators and why it's important

In this post, I explore the reasons for growing plants for pollinators and why it’s important for your garden or vegetable plot. It is also important for the conservation of wildlife. There are reports that bees are on the decline worldwide, so any help we as growers can offer must be a good thing. Growing Plants For Pollinators And Why It’s Important According to the Bumble bee conservation trust, two species of bumble bee have become extinct in the UK since the start of the twentieth century. With another two species of bee in danger of imminent extinction. Theories as… → Read More

The Easiest Way To Grow Sweetcorn In The UK

the easiest way to grow sweetcorn in the uk

The Easiest way to grow Sweetcorn in the UK. That sounds like a definitive statement, that’s because it is. I have tried many different ways to grow sweetcorn and this is by far my most successful. How To Grow Sweetcorn When I started growing vegetables I was advised by many “experts” not to waste my time with sweetcorn as it needed longer, hotter summers than we get in the UK. I spent my formative years as a greengrocer and throughout late Summer and early Autumn I used to sell British grown sweetcorn, Which tasted incredibly sweet so as soon as… → Read More

How To Save Seeds From Runner Beans

how to save seed from runner beans

If you have grown a variety of beans that you have enjoyed, and it wasn’t an F1 hybrid then it is well worth saving seeds for next year. F1 hybrids will not come true to type but if you’re not too bothered about staying true to type then save some anyway. So here’s how to save seeds from runner beans. How to save Seeds from Runner Beans Towards the end of the growing season, after you have been picking runner beans for a while and have frozen enough to see you through the winter, leave some beans growing on the… → Read More

How To Freeze Runner Beans

how to save seeds from runner beans

runner beans

So after just coming home from the allotment with 15 lb of runner beans I decided it’s time to fill the freezer. There are, after all only so many runner beans you can eat, so here’s how to freeze runner beans in easy steps. How To Freeze Runner Beans The beans are picked and washed. That’s the only real difference on freezing runner beans to freezing broad beans, as broad beans have to be podded. Step One Step one is in two parts, firstly fill a large pan with water and bring to the boil. Whilst the water is boiling… → Read More

Poached Egg Plant Companion Planting

Poached Egg Plant Companion Planting

Companion Planting with Poached Egg Plants

There has been a trend recently of people wanting to fight insect infestations by organic/natural methods with the emphasis on companion planting and using Poached Egg Plants in particular. The problem with that as far as I can see is that there doesn’t seem to be much relevant information out there so I thought it was about time to dedicate a post on the subject. What Is A Poached Egg Plant The Poached Egg Plant (Latin name Limnanthes Douglasii) is an annual plant with open flowers that are white around the outside with a yellow middle that resembles a poached… → Read More

How To Save Seed

how to save seed

How to save seed Now days vegetable seeds are relatively cheap to buy, but sometimes you want to have the squash that someone has given you and was particularly tasty but you are unaware of its name so this is how to save seed. you will need, A Jar A saucer A sieve A container/bag    Step one – extracting seed Take the squash or tomato you wish to save seed from and extract some seeds. Step two – soaking seeds Next place the extracted seed into a jar and add just enough water to cover the seeds. Replace the lid… → Read More

How To Stop Runner Beans Drying Out

how to save seeds from runner beans

runner beans

If like me you can’t always get to water your plot you need as many tricks as you can find to stop your plants from losing too much moisture, so this post is called how to stop runner beans drying out but this technique works equally  well for squashes, tomatoes etc.For more information on Growing squashes  click the link.  It’s important that runner beans don’t dry out because when runner beans do get dry they get stringy. Step one – How to stop runner beans drying out   The first thing to do is to dig a trench roughly a… → Read More