Tag: runner beans

Old school tools

My attempt to construct a bean frame was less than adequate. It looked unlikely to withstand the strong winds which brought down the beans on flimsy bamboo stakes last year.

When I showed my brother what I was trying to achieve, he hammered the posts in a little more with my small hammer. It must have been on his mind because he turned up today with two mallets to make a better job of it.

I found some lengths of wood to use for horizontal supports. We had to scratch around in the garden shed to find screws to attach them, but my rarely used power drill’s battery was dead. Instead, at the bottom of my father’s old tool box we found a hand drill and rustled up just enough rusty old nails to finish the job.

Already the beans are pushing their way up through the compost, so the finished frame is timely. I will be able to run twine between the horizontal pieces to support the beans as they grow.

Makeshift repair

A strong wind flattened my runner beans this afternoon. My carefully constructed bean frame with a crossbar, simply gave way, and some of the bamboo stakes snapped. When the wind had died down, I extracted some stronger stakes from the garden shed and began a repair. I incorporated the old hen run gate (itself a repurposed trellis) and pieces of twine. I’m not entirely confident that it will stand up to another strong wind.

I watered the beans to help them recover from their ordeal. They were looking limp – as are the lettuces in the greenhouse (also a makeshift structure), and the lettuces in the vertical garden which are attracting ants for some reason.

7pm and it’s still hot!
The white powder is diatomaceous earth to discourage the ants

I suspect Mum is okay with a haphazard repair to her broken hip. She is ignoring the physiotherapist’s advice to exercise to get her circulation going and to improve her strength. My brother suggests I withhold her porridge until she’s done her exercises – porridge being her favourite thing. No wonder her siblings called her ‘The Biz’!

An imperfect note on which to end the year, perhaps, with more makeshift repairs to come – no doubt about it. Happy new year!

Autumn Storm

The garden looked very green and fresh on the morning after the rain-and-wind storm last week. It felt like autumn though. No more warm summer days and nights.

The wind had blown down the archway made by the climbing beans. It collapsed completely and I consigned it to the compost. I thought of Jack and the Beanstalk as, with some difficulty, I cut it up the tough stems and disentangled them from the stakes which had failed to hold it up. Did a similar task inspire the writer of the story?

Before
After

Vera followed me to the compost and, as usual, stopped and stared pointedly at the grapes hanging tantalisingly out of her reach. They are steadily ripening and, after tasting a few myself, I draped some over the wheelbarrow for her.

The fresh autumn air has made the grapes perfect for eating: cool and sweet-tart. Delicious.