The easy annuals that provide prolific crops can be started now either inside or outdoors
Homegrown beans are quick and easy to grow and are among the most nutritious of vegetables. Runner beans are generally perceived as the nation’s favourite, but French beans are easier to grow and crop more quickly. If you have a small plot or just a few pots on the patio, they are the perfect choice.
Although there is a range of colours and pod shapes, the main choice is whether to grow dwarf or climbing varieties. Dwarf beans crop more quickly and don’t need support, though some twigs are useful in patio pots. Climbing beans offer a wider range of pod shapes and take a little longer to crop but they produce beans over a longer period. They will need supports to climb up. The flowers are pretty but not huge so you could plant some sweet peas among them, or other annual climbers to ‘pretty-up’ a patio pot. There’s more on how to put up supports on the opposite page.
French beans are sensitive to cold, wet soil – the most common reason why they fail – so if the weather is cold, or your soil is heavy clay, it’s best to sow seeds in pots at this time of year. But you can keep sowing dwarf beans until early July so there’s no need to panic. They are a good crop for a polytunnel too, where you can sow until late July for autumn crops.
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Check trees for snails
This spring has been a terrible season for slugs and snails – or rather, for gardeners! The mild, wet weather provides perfect conditions for these slimy pests. I’ve found them up my apple and birch trees this year, stripping the leaves off them. But at least they can be picked off without bending down! Keep up regular checks for them. Slugs tend to feed near gr
