Climbing french bean – wind damage

[dan hazelrowanParticipant]

Hi all, my first post here

So my climbing French beans were growing away very happily in the warm, windless weather, and had each grown a couple lovely big, sail-like leaves. Then along comes Mr 50mph SW, and rains/blows on the parade!

So all have sustained some damage, at worst no big leaves left, some are hanging on by threads, but most have a second set of small leaves, and a climber starting…

Now by chance I have (by mistake) a load more French bean plants sown a week after the first batch, they are a week overdue for planting (I was going to give them away).

So my question is :

Do I replace the damaged plants with my slightly overstood new plants? The damaged plants were planted out beginning of june.

Or do I hope the plants will recover – their roots should be away by now and maybe they will be ok?

Heres to an end to the wind, and the return of warm sun!

Dan

ps out of interest, ‘neckargold’ resisted best, then ‘blauhilde’ and ‘borlotti’ succumbed worst

[charlesModerator]

 Hello Dan, I just caught this before bedtime and yes, I and probably many others have the smae question. My borlottis look especially unhappy.
If they have new leaves and another climber starting, I would leave them. Last year I left beans with terrible slug damage and they came through it. New plants will lose time establishing. But very good that you have them in case!

I quite agree, here’s to less wind.

[dan hazelrowanParticipant]

thanks charles, yes i’ll replace the very worst ones then..

Wind aside – one specific plant has been systematically nibbled every night – doesn’t look like slug damage , they are curving ‘bite’ marks on the leaf edges, quite strange..

[dan hazelrowanParticipant]

Well the beans have recovered really well, and the new ones i planted as replacements are looking sorry as they got their leaves blown off! And as they werent established when that happened they are well behind the originals now..

[charlesModerator]

 Nice to hear they are growing now, and mine too. Still breezy here but its a warm wind! Slugs have got involved a bit and I chopped a few at dawn this morning.

[dan hazelrowanParticipant]

Well, this hot weather means that the first bean has reached over the ridgepole of my support structure! just over 2metres.. and Blauhilde won the the race! amazing!

I wonder how high a bean would climb if it could carry on?

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