Borlotti Beans

I stumbled upon this contraption in one of the store rooms at Rocket HQ the other day and was immediately intrigued. Was it a miniature maypole? I realised probably not.

It's actually a climbing frame for Borlotti beans. Brilliant!

Borlotti beans grow on climbing plants and the plants need something to climb up, otherwise they droop over. The particular contraption that I found has 8 strings stemming from a central pole. Each string can be pulled out straight and secured with what looks like a tent peg. It's quite compact, so can be used in a container, as well as in beds.

One Borlotti seedling can be planted next to each string and as it grows it will wind itself round the string, keeping it nice and vertical. As they get taller, I'll probably have to secure them with ties, just to make sure they stay put.

It's also possible to use canes for growing beans on (runners being another climbing bean.) You can either place them individually in rows or make a tepee by placing them several canes in a circle, then tying them together at the top or placing a topper on it. If you've got a bit of space, you can also use netting.

I'm keen to use my new-found contraption though and so I'm going to stick with the climbing frame.

Borlotti plants are best sown outside from May onwards, when they are at least 5cm in height. Considering it's been so cold this year (there was snow up in Scotland yesterday, apparently!) I'm running the risk of killing them by planting them out right now but with a blog to write, I've got to plant something! It might be best to hold fire for a couple of weeks before planting them. Either that, or cover the baby plants up with fleece to protect them from the frost.

When choosing a spot to plant Borlottis, consider that they like plenty of sunshine. Dig a small hole, sprinkle in a small handful of organic fertiliser and then pop in the plant. They like plenty of space so try not to plant them too close together. An ideal space would be 30cm between each plant. Once they start flowering, they will need regular watering.

Marigolds are a good companion for Borlottis as they will help keep the bugs away. Slugs and snails are also partial to these particular plants so I'll have to do regular checks. If they do become a problem, I'm going to try sprinkling used filter coffee granules round the base of the plants, as this apparently is a deterrent. If that fails to work then I'll have to resort to the glass of beer trick, which draws the slugs in and then drowns them- a bit gruesome though!

Borlotti beans should be ready to harvest from August onwards. You can tell they're ready when the pods turn cream. Before that, they'll be speckled with red.

Onions

Inspired by a delicious recipe for onion and cheese pie in How to be a Domestic Goddess (I'm aiming high on the domesticity front!), onion sets are next on my list of "Things to plant."

I'm going to be growing some onions from plant and others from sets, to see how I get on with both. Onion sets are basically mini onions, which are meant to be much easier to grow than from plant. Despite this, I'm quite looking forward to attempting to grow from plant though- I like the surprise of not knowing how many onions you're going to harvest. With sets, the number of mini onions you plant is the same number you'll harvest- only, they'll hopefully have grown quite a lot bigger!

I'm growing Sturon onions, which are a variety that can be planted during the Spring. I'm planting mine in the raised beds that have already been prepared and, like the rhubarb, they like growing in a sunny spot. Onions are a good companion for carrots, so I'm told, as they help to keep the carrot fly at bay. Which is helpful.

I've planted the onion sets straight into the ground, without digging a trench or anything as they need to be planted only shallowly. I pushed each bulb into the ground, leaving the tips only barely showing. If you leave too much tip showing, there's a danger that birds will uproot them. I left a space of about a hand-width between each onion. The books tell me you have to be particularly fastidious about weeding around onion plants because their thin leaves can't deal with competing weeds (bless, the delicate little things!)

And that's it! A big tick for the ease of planting onions! Completely faff-free! I just hope that they grow just as easily!

PS. I had a look at my forced rhubarb just now and it is looking FANTASTIC! Bright red and delicious- I can't wait for it to be ready. As a comparison, I also planted some in pots and left them to grow normally- although they're growing, they are nowhere near as big or as brightly-coloured as the forced stuff.

Forced rhubarb (not a very convincingly Unforced rhubarb- much

red photo, I'm afraid.) smaller!