2025 Little Easy Bean Network - Growers Of The Future Will Be Glad We Saved

[SusanneinHastings]

we're still getting enough cool nights that with the wet weather i'm not wanting to put anything out yet (which is normal for any warm weather plants).

the part that is bugging me right now though is that i haven't even gotten the peas planted and it doesn't look like i'll get to that this week either.

We are dry, dry, dry here. One of my colleagues at work put in his tomatoes this weekend but I am still being cautious. Also I haven’t had time to move the tomato trellis yet!

I have only once managed to get the peas in at the right time, when I planted them in a giant pot on the driveway. This year I am trying the British “loo roll” method. We will see if it works. Central Minnesota doesn’t really have a spring window for peas, we go from freezing to 80s/90s in two weeks lots of years. Like this one.

 

[flowerbug]

i did get the peas planted yesterday. no beans planted yet.

 

[heirloomgal]

I saw three rabbits today while out doing errands in my neighbourhood. Yikes. Hopefully the weasels, foxes and coyotes will balance things out.

This year I'm holding back on planting beans in pots until mid - May, given how cold it still is. Time to start getting some poles cut down. I'm quite behind this year in getting the garden ready because of the late spring, and then all that snow created so much moisture. I still can't walk in the garden it's so wet and mucky.

 

[ruralmamma]

So far I've only started some runner beans in pots and need to do the same with Hyacinth beans. Voles are still a major concern as I still haven't managed to trap one but cats have been earning their keep. Told hubby that I needed his help in getting the fence up around the expansion from last year and then I'll finalize my planting plans.

 

[Blue-Jay]

I saw three rabbits today while out doing errands in my neighbourhood. Yikes. Hopefully the weasels, foxes and coyotes will balance things out.

Rabbit's Yikes is right ! I buy this vinyl lattice at Manards. Don't know if Manards is in Canada. Comes in 2 feet wide by 8 feet long sections. Expensive but once you bought it you will have it for countless seasons. I use it to make rabbit fences. If I didn't rabbits would really ruin my bean gardens. I support the lattice pieces with 36 in long 1 x 2 stakes with a point cut on one end driven into the ground 12 inches. Attach the lattice to the steaks with 1/2 inch screws. You can make the corners tight with no spaces for reabbit's to get in. A chicken wire fence won't keep rabbits out.

 

[heirloomgal]

It's a good system you have there @Blue-Jay. I may need to do something like this if rabbits do indeed turn out to be a problem; I've had some nibbles here and there in the last year or two but never any real damage to the beans. I can only hope it stays that way. Fencing my gardens would be tricky because I have so many of them at this point, and my main large garden is terraced, each row is a step down. Not sure how I'd do it. Because I do transplants and they are a good size when I set them out, I hope that serves to discourage them.

 

[Decoy1]

Your fence looks great, @Blue-Jay. I’ve had rabbit problems in the past but interestingly, they’ve shown no interest in beans. Perhaps British rabbits have different tastes. Brassicas have been their main delectation. Or perhaps it’s because I use transplants like @heirloomgal so the bean plants are past the very succulent vulnerable stage.
I’ve also been quite successful with chicken wire fencing, as long as the holes in the wire aren’t too big.

 

[ruralmamma]

Glad I didn't get in a hurry and plant any beans yet as our predicted last frost date was a week ago and yet it's currently 35°. Quite a pain putting all the plants back into the greenhouse for the night but at least I know they're reasonably warm.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Your fence looks great, @Blue-Jay. I’ve had rabbit problems in the past but interestingly, they’ve shown no interest in beans. Perhaps British rabbits have different tastes. Brassicas have been their main delectation. Or perhaps it’s because I use transplants like @heirloomgal so the bean plants are past the very succulent vulnerable stage.
I’ve also been quite successful with chicken wire fencing, as long as the holes in the wire aren’t too big.

Yes I have noticed that once my beans become about 30 days old the rabbits here don't show any interest in the beans anymore. Perhaps your Brassicas are a stronger lure for your rabbits and they rather have that than beans. Gives your beans time to grow out of that attractive stage.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Two stories I consider related to this topic. Both happened when I was in Arkansas.

Rabbits could get in my garden but were usually not a problem. But one spring I noticed something was eating off my beans as they sprouted. Not a lot, but if you are only planting 5 or 6 seeds per variety even a few is a lot. It was rabbits. So I trapped and killed or shot a total of 16 rabbits out of that garden. Not in the area outside the garden, in the actual 50' x 75' garden. I finally got the right one. I'm convinced that was the only rabbit actually eating the beans. The rest were eating other things. I had no idea there were that many.

Another time I had a row about 50 feet long of Blue Lake beans, used for canning. I noticed every night one or two were being eaten every night. I just happened to see a large rat in the garden one day in that general area. I saw where it went to hide and put rat poison where rats could get to it but dogs and cats could not. That took care of that problem.