Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

Posted on 21. Aug, 2011 by Tracey in Veg Plot

I could be talking about any aspect of vegetable growing. We all sow the seeds, water and stand back and wait for ‘something’ to happen, we hope that ‘something’ will be good and not fraught with pests, diseases or other problems. We hope that when the waiting game has paid off, that the ‘something’ has transformed from a seed into a ‘something’ of beauty.

Tiny Runner Beans

Hurry up runner beans, grow! is what I have been saying to myself over these past few weeks, even after all these years growing vegetables, I’m still not very good at the waiting game part. And it always comes back and bites me on the behind, when the runner bean harvest is more than I can handle and I’ve pickled, frozen, eaten beans every night and still got them flowing off the plants.

I feel like I have been waiting ages for these beans to grow, although I did have a good surprise waiting for me last week in my bean tower, when I had forgotten I’d sown Bridgewater climbing beans (from seeds leftover form last years heritage seed library).

Bridgewater Climbing Bean plants

A whole line of mottled purple green pods, have suddenly appeared at the bottom of the bean tower, under the huge green bean leaves. Of course these didn’t go to waste, they got plucked after a photo opportunity and chopped and thrown straight into the pan for dinner, unfortunately they loose their purple colour when cooking which I think is a shame.

Desperate for Runner Beans

I was so desperate for some runner beans this year (as last years got wiped out by slugs), I have two staggered sowings on the go.

First Sowing: White Lady variety – Sowed Early May and now in mid August they are six foot plus plants, flowering and forming tiny beans.
Second Sowing: Celebration variety – Sowed Late June and they are 3 foot in height and only just flowering in mid August.

Not long to wait now! Runner Bean harvest coming soon. I have to keep telling myself ‘good things come to those who wait’.