From June to December, runner beans enchant us with their red, red-white and yellowish inflorescences. The pods, which are up to 25 cm long, taste particularly good when harvested as young beans. Runner beans are sown from mid-May, when frosts are no longer expected at night.
When and how are runner beans sowed?
Runner beans are sown from mid-May directly into the bed or in the house, e.g. on the windowsill, from April. The seeds should be soaked overnight before sowing and then placed 2 to 3 cm deep in the soil.
Prefer fire beans in the house
From April you can grow runner beans indoors. You need small flower pots or yogurt cups with soil in which you place the bean seeds two to three centimeters deep. For faster germination, let the seeds soak in water overnight.
The seeds germinate within one to two weeks on the warm windowsill. The runner bean is sensitive to moisture, so the growing pot is only kept slightly moist. You can plant the young runner beans outdoors from mid-May.
Sow fire beans directly into the bed
From mid-May you can also sow runner beans directly into the bed:
- Soak bean seeds overnight
- loose up the soil
- The soil should be dry and at least 10 degrees Celsius warm for sowing
- Set up trellises in the bed
- sow six to ten seeds 2 to 3 cm deep in a circle around the pole
- cover with soil and water lightly
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maintain a minimum distance of 40 cm between the trellises and one meter between the rows
Sowing runner beans in a container for the balcony
If you want to grow runner beans on the balcony, you need a container with at least 45 cm diameter. The container is filled with simple garden soil, which you enrich with horn shavings or compost. About five to six seeds are inserted two to three cm deep into the soil and covered with substrate.
Tips & Tricks
Fire beans are particularly suitable for growing willow tepees. They develop dense foliage and at the same time decorate with their decorative flowers. But be careful: beans are poisonous and therefore not a snack for children.
