Runners

After a slow start due to flooding and generally miserable summer weather, the plot is now in full production: lots of courgettes, more salads than we can eat, some late strawberries, indoors and outdoors cucumbers, onions, shallots, potatoes and turnips...

And now the runner beans have started … I grow them against a wire fence that separates us from another plot and they have been beautiful this year, climbing and covering the fence in masses of red and white flowers. I grow 2 varieties: White Emergo and Scarlet Emperor. The red ones were first to fruit but now the whites are catching up and soon the whole fence will be overloaded with beans. We’ve already had enough for 2 meals and I know we’ll be sick of them soon when the glut is in full force! Last year I gave loads away and made runner beans chutney which was really nice. I’ll probably make a few jars again this year even though we still have a couple left from last year and of course I'll freeze some for the winter months. Any other ideas and recipes are welcome!

Runner beans collage

Apart from weeding and picking beans, another big job last weekend was to sort out the strawberries bed. Whilst we were away in August, they have been very busy throwing out runners which started rooting all over the bed. And it was getting pretty crowded! I spent the best part of Saturday afternoon transplanting the runners, trying to find space for them all. Our strawberry bed is certainly going to get even bigger next year: I think we have in excess of a hundred new plants! But you can never have too many strawberries, can you?

Some of the runners settling in their temporary bed