Focus on… Runner beans

AN annual feature on any vegetable plot, runner beans can be sown now and are utterly delicious when the pods are picked at a young and tender age. The pitfalls are easy to avoid if you know how, so let me divulge how to ensure a summer full of beans!

Better bean breeding

Plant breeders have done gardeners proud in recent years. While older varieties flowered late in the summer, modern types develop earlier blooms due to boffins adjusting the bean’s sensitivity