Richard Bell's nature sketchbook since 1998
These borlotti beans are ready to go in growing around a couple of wigwams of bamboo canes. The broad beans, sown in the ground a month ago are now emerging.
It might be best to pot on our rather alien-looking courgette seedlings and grow them on in the greenhouse before planting them out in the raised bed.
We’re growing borlotti beans this year, along with some regular French runners. The advantage with borlottis is that if you don’t get around to picking the pods and using them as runner beans – which is usually the case with us – you can un-pod the streaky purple beans and use them, or dry them to use later.
These had been grown on the kitchen windowsill so, like the one on the bottom left, they were leaning over towards the light. I turned the around to draw them just a couple hours ago and already the stems have straightened up.