Fall Gardening thread.

If you like runner beans, now is the time to order or buy  stringless bean seeds.   I ordered polestar and lady di. they came from england. The local seed people do not do stringless. It is not as if stringless runnerbeans are genetically engineered or anything like that. Polestar must be 20 years old at least. And the difference is totally worth it. You get a much  longer cropping period and you can can the extra beans no problem. Once you get one seed set on a generic  scarlet emperor, the plant stops producing!   What a horrible excuse for a variety! 

My neighbour wants me to do hugel kultur next year and I will probably do it. Anyone want to read up on it or has anyone done it already?

Brian

 Runner beans and other types of poles beans grow up a pole or trellis. Other then thats they're still pretty much like a bush bean.  I grow both types. Pole beans are great if you have a small space to garden or want to maximize what you have by using more vertical space.    I grow my runner beans up a trellis at the side of my beds and direct them so they actually grow over the paths. By the end of the season it's like a tunnel of beans and not only is it pretty cool in terms of asthetics it uses the path space for growing. You just have to reach up to pick them.  :)   You can also do funky things like grow them with corn. If you get the timing right the stalks provide the support and you get the companion benefit of the beans which put nitrogen back in the soil and the corn which is a heavy nitrogen feeder. 

I saw a really neat kids hut made with pole beans. Basically a teepee with poles and the beans planted at the base. They grow up and cover the structure and by summers end it's a cool and somewhat edible fort. 

Thanks for the info Brian.  I grew Scarlett Runners last year and a couple of heirloom varieties that I can't remember the name of. I'm not sure if they were stringless because I left most of them for dried beans and ate the bush beans fresh.

I've never heard of hugelkulter before. I just googled it. Looks interesting but it's late and need some sleep so will look at it later.

Further to runner beans: February is the time for Seedy Saturdays in my part of SW Ontario, where people who save seeds from their own gardens get together to trade tips and material. It was at such a gathering I first encountered Painted Lady runner beans. Unlike the scarlet runners you buy in most packets, these had spectacular red-and-white blossoms. They were so prolific that we couldn't keep up with them, but that was okay. They quickly swarm over a teepee of six-foot poles and cover it with blossoms and beautiful green leaves. One year my daughter and I gathered up fallen branches from the winter storms and made an Eeyore house in the garden. Then we sowed Painted Ladies all round it and watched as it grew a green canopy. The only problem with this hundred-year old variety is that there is a very short window of time during which the pod is edible. In no time at all it gets all starchy with a fine downy covering. But it's so beautiful you can grow it as an edible until you fall behind in the harvesting, then convince yourself that you really grew it as an ornamental.

If you're interested in heritage varieties, which frequently suffer from all the ills the flesh is heir to but reward you with spectacular taste, check out Seeds of Diversity, www.seeds.ca. Their site has a full listing of Seedy days they sponsor across the country and tells you how to get in touch with heritage seedspeople.