Growing Dwarf French Beans over Autumn under cover / in the greenhouse - update

 Yes ! It has been a successful experiment and this will be my final report about them .

  I have been picking lots and there are lots more beans coming .

The two courgette plants in the shed have more flowers and fruits coming too . 

I had nothing to lose really doing this . I used the compost that the tomatoes had grown in . I have no idea how these became pollenated as I now am pretty much  keeping the window shut .

Courgettes are pretty expensive in the shops so I'm a very happy bunny ! 

We are beginning to pick the mixed salad leaves that I have grown too . So nice and fresh and tasty . 

Romaine Lettuce , coriander , dill and spinach . We try to have at least three salad meals a week .

The wind is picking up again here , there is a storm coming in . Looking at the satellite picture , I can see a lot of lightening  . I'm not sure about it . It might just brush past us .  Windy though , which is a bit of a nuisance as I have to put the bins out this evening and I will have to find a rock to hold one of the lids from blowing away . Not complaining , just gently grumbling .  I know people are suffering far , far worse with wild crazy weather and my heart goes out to them !

Dahlias - the Dahlias are looking fab right now . I don't know it's name but that's one of my favourites .

That's all fer now ...batten down the hatches ! 

Growing Dwarf Beans over Autumn under cover in the Greenhouse - update

 Come with me and we'll see how those Dwarf  French Beans are doing in the greenhouse .

O.K ....so you'd better wait outside , since there's only just about room for me in there !

                Dwarf French Beans are self pollinating ! Yay !

Oh my goodness ! We have beans ! 

I had been wondering about hand pollinating such small flowers , but needn't  have worried as they are self pollinating  .

            There are lots of flowers .

                      In just a few more days I'll be picking beans !

                                                      I'm so happy ! 

Growing Dwarf French Beans over Autumn under cover - update

 Walking past the greenhouse this morning I spied a tiny purple bean flower through the window !

I went in to investigate and yes , there are lots of buds . I hope they can make it before the serious  Winter weather arrives . 

It is definitely turning cooler here now and the day light hours are getting shorter .

This is only a little experiment . I wouldn't want to buy in more compost or put them into larger pots in my little greenhouse and , by the way , I used the spent compost from my tomato plants . I am thinking that this would really work best if I had a polytunnel and planted lots of them into the ground . Then I could get a more respectable and worthwhile harvest . 

Anyway you never know , we might get a few .

Started bringing in hanging baskets and pelargoniums . This one from my kitchen window . I planted it up with succulents and a couple of pelargoniums . So they can just continue to grow through the Winter and I'll put it out again next Spring . 

Growing Dwarf French Beans in the greenhouse over Autumn experiment- update

 

                       I think I can see flower buds !

           Yes , I'm sure that is a flower bud !

Today the wind has changed direction and is now coming  from the North . It was definitely cooler over night . 

The beans are still looking good and romping away . I fixed up some more strings for them to scrabble over .

I hope there will still be time to get a small harvest from these .

Today the priority was to cut down the branches that were over hanging the garage and summer house roof .

Glad to have got this done before the storm that they are now talking about comes in next week sometime . It might not happen , but they are keeping an eye on it .

It was a lovely sunny afternoon though. Blue sky . It's going to be cold tonight .

I got the branches cut down and processed up for next years beanpoles and kindling .

I decided to bring in my Gasteria collection . They've enjoyed a wonderful holiday outside this summer , but will not like being outside now the nights are turning cooler . 

There is not much room in the porch since I had to bring in all the split logs from the old woodshed because we were having a new log store built . I,ve had to put them onto a table , which I hope will take their weight !

The Aspidistras are back in their shady corner of the porch too .

They did not enjoy the heatwave . I left them in too sunny a place outside and I lost quite a few of their leaves . They've had some rain now and are coming back thank-goodness . I can see some lovely new leaves .

Everybody happy to be back in the cosy warm porch  ! 

Growing Dwarf French Beans in the greenhouse over Autumn experiment - update

 

Look at those Dwarf French Beans ! They are really beginning to get away now .

I fixed up some more rigging to support them .

They are only little Dwarf French Beans but they do want to climb a little bit .

I don't seem to have lost anymore to snails thank goodness .

Then I spent a couple of hours pricking out , potting on and watering in spinach , coriander , dill and lettuces . Some to go out into the Veg-Trug , but mostly to grow on here in the shed .

I usually do a lot of thinking while I'm doing this . Usually it is very calming and meditative , but this morning I feel very tired afterwards .

The Butternut Squash leaves are beginning to not completely wither , but slightly open out now revealing some lovely fruit down below . Not ready until end of next month  .

We are having a "warm weather plume " apparently for the next couple of days . Then turning cold for the second half of the week . 

I have my old roll of insulation foil ready to fix up up over the greenhouse rafters . I am also sorting out my candles and greenhouse lantern . I don't think I,ll need to use the lantern yet . Not until February /March hopefully . I also have a pile of old newspapers to throw over all the plants  should it turn icy. 

I don't like fleece in my greenhouse ..it is expensive , it doesn't last and it always disintegrates into dust and I am afraid of breathing it in ...... but that is just my preference . 

The greenhouse is so rickety now , that I think we are in more danger of it collapsing in the gales !

A couple of the windows have slightly slipped glass too . It is only by just a fraction , but it is surprising how much water can come in ! I am trying to figure out how I can fix this . I can't get up on the roof , wondering if I can seal it from the inside somehow ?

O.k. I'm waffling on now , so I'll leave you in peace and go and put my feet up  .

Be gentle on yourself .

Hello September

 

White rabbits !    Good-morning my lovelies !     Hello September !

                              Dwarf French Beans in the greenhouse .

We're off to a good start with the sun rising into a beautiful blue sky this morning .

I think we are going to have a few more sun shiny days before the weather changing at the weekend .

The Dwarf French Beans are growing so fast and standing up to attention this morning with their first large true leaves .

There are a few more flowers on the three remaining cucumber plants .They have more light now the messy  tomato vines have gone .

Haven't done much in the garden , while the man has been here building our new workshop and woodshed . 

Things I need to do - 

           Finish pulling out all the ivy and brambles in the herb garden .

          Climb back up into the "Nettlelands" and continue sorting that out .

           Garage door is stuck closed !  Man coming to look at it on Monday . 

I have to move all the rocks in front of the garage doors so he can get to it ......the good wheelbarrow is ...sigh ...in the garage .

which means ....

I will have to empty the not so good wheelbarrow of all the primrose and cowslip plants that I still haven't planted out - maybe pot them all up  or maybe plant them out . 

I really should plant them all out but the ground is so dry .

Log delivery coming Monday afternoon - so I need to be super-fit for getting it all into the new woodshed .

Hope it isn't raining on Monday !

Ricardo's Undercover Autumn Dwarf French Bean Experiment

 On the 21 August my husband decided to try an experiment of growing Dwarf French Beans in the shed over Autumn and he did actually sow them himself  !

He sowed half a tray and they came up very quickly and I then sowed the other half of the tray and added more compost over his ones that didn't have enough compost over them .

           29 August -  all popping up !

They have all germinated and it was time to prick them out and pot them on .

I put them into 3 1/2 " pots .

Multi-purpose compost with some perlite mixed in .

I pricked them out very carefully , even the beans that were just beginning to germinate , because even those , already had quite long roots .

........ I watered them all in and ......put back my husband's little label  🙄 .

I them immediately pricked out and potted up my lettuce seedlings into the now empty module tray that the beans had grown in . 

The Dwarf French Beans will be going into the greenhouse so they can have more warmth and light .

The lettuces prefer to be cold so will be grown on in the shed .

 I pulled down the foil sheet to give them more light .

By the way , there was no romantic sun-rising through the morning mist this morning .Very overcast .

It is warm but cooler thank goodness . 

Not needing a jumper or jacket on though and still wearing my sandals .

This is not a tutorial and I have no idea if growing Dwarf French  Beans over Autumn is  a good idea .

I just wanted to record the experiment here .

So meanwhile , I have also cleared out all the exhausted and fading Tomato plants . leaving just a few Sweet Peppers and a couple of struggling but still producing Cucumber plants .

The last bunch of tomatoes !

I'm not mad about Peppers ....

Peppers are not mad about me ! Husband wants me to pick these just as they are beginning to turn red and then slice them up and get them into the freezer .

One struggling Cucumber with two small fruits on..not sure if they are going to make it ? 

These extra tough black plastic growing pot bags worked well for me and I can keep re-using them .

I am going to let them dry out a bit before I go to lift them out . The spent compost will be spread over the African key-hole bed after I have harvested the Butternut squashes . 

So now I can see all my cactus and succulent friends once more !

I think next year I will move all the cacti up to the other end of the greenhouse so that I can reach to tend to the Tomato plants more easily .

It will be interesting to see how the Dwarf French Beans do in the greenhouse over Autumn / Fall .