Puny Beans

Gardening to 'grow your own food' from square foot to half an acre !!
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Freeranger
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Puny Beans

Post by Freeranger »

I have just taken a very meager harvest from my broad beans - only one bean per pod!
When I've tried growing peas and beans in the past I've also found very few per pod, whether few or many pods on the plants.
What a I doing wrong?
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Mo
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Re: Puny Beans

Post by Mo »

Strange. Could it be lack of pollinating insects. If so I suppose you could go out with a paintbrush.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Puny Beans

Post by lancashire lass »

Mo wrote:Could it be lack of pollinating insects.


I'm likely to think this is the case - it might not be so much that there aren't enough pollinating insects in your garden, but bear in mind also the weather ... if it is too cold, too windy or raining, then the pollinators like bees can't fly. Beans are self pollinating so tapping the flower might just be enough to knock the pollen about
Freeranger
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Re: Puny Beans

Post by Freeranger »

I suppose that might be the case in the spot they're in, and I could have a go at pollinating them by hand and growing some flowers in amongst next time.
Would they form a pod at all if they hadn't been pollinated? I always assumed that pods only formed behind pollinated flowers.
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Mo
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Re: Puny Beans

Post by Mo »

Can they be partially pollinated? Just guessing.
I know Conference pears can be thin or fat depending on pollination, they are partly self-fertile but do better if crosspollinated.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Puny Beans

Post by lancashire lass »

Freeranger wrote:Would they form a pod at all if they hadn't been pollinated? I always assumed that pods only formed behind pollinated flowers.


I think an immature pod might start to grow "in anticipation" of pollinating but if no seeds develop, it would be wasted energy to keep growing and the pod would most likely wither. If there's only one or two seeds, then the pod will grow (I think of it as exchange of hormones - imagine the developing seed produces a hormone but if the hormone is absent, then there is no seed so the pod dies .... this is only my imagination and isn't fact BTW but there must be some sort of trigger which are usually plant hormone related)
Freeranger
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Re: Puny Beans

Post by Freeranger »

Thanks, Ladies - I'll know what to try for next time.
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