It’s still not too late to get planting

Shirley Lanigan says that now is the time to get planting beans, courgettes and pumpkins and offers some tips for getting the most out of these plants this year
While many of the vegetables that we can grow outside are already in the ground and faring nicely, there are some crops that really must wait until the year is well under way before they can be expected to hold up under the vagaries of the Irish summer.
These are the French and runner beans, courgettes and pumpkins. Growing them in our climate requires patience, and the willingness to act later rather than sooner. It is always satisfying to the less than organised gardener that they are ahead of the game for a change.

Planted outside too early, these plants, which require warmth and sun to thrive, will sulk, refuse to grow and generally disappoint. Under the stress of cold and wet, they may also succumb to attack by disease.
h4. Serious set-backs
Our early summer is often unreliable. The temperatures fluctuate too wildly. One day it seems the summer might have arrived and the next, whipping winds and a drop in temperature roll us back to early spring weather, and young tender plants suffer serious set-backs.
The reliable way is to start off the seeds indoors, either in a greenhouse or on a warm windowsill. Even if space is at a premium, they take up very little. Unlike many crops such as salads, carrots, onions and radishes, it is not necessary to plant great numbers.
A family will want no more than one or two courgette plants, a single pumpkin and a few dozen beans. Even if you plant double that number of seeds as insurance against losses, it should still be possible to find enough space on your windowsills for a few weeks as the seeds develop.
These seeds tend to germinate quickly — which makes them great plants through which to introduce children to gardening. The fast-growing fat leaves that a courgette, sunflower or pumpkin seed sends up can be mesmerising and hook a child on growing.
And the heart-shaped leaves of young bean plants will bring back images of Jack and the Beanstalk to the toughest nut. Over the weeks, regular watering, turning and potting them on into bigger pots (if necessary) takes little effort and watching their progress is a pleasure.
h4. Planted outside
When the weather warms up properly, they will have reached a size big enough so that they can be planted outside – where they should continue to grow almost as fast as they did indoors. Even in a bad summer, August and September — the months when beans and pumpkins ripen — temperatures tend to be more bankable than the supposed summer months of June and July.
Beans, courgettes and pumpkins perform equally well in the vegetable garden and as dual decorative and productive plants on a balcony or in a container garden. Beans are pretty plants in themselves. The flowers can be beautiful, and trained up a wigwam or obelisk, a half dozen bean plants will create good-looking, almost instant height in a small garden.
There will be some, if not a great many, gardeners who forgot to sow the relevant seeds a few weeks ago. This should not matter. They can still get out to the garden centre, nursery, DIY store, home and farm shop, country market or farmers’ market where they should be able to get hold of a few plants.
Alternatively, a friend with particularly green fingers might oblige with some of their excess seedlings. In desperation you could contact the local horticultural society to see if any of the members might sell you a few plants. They might, in return try to get you to join. Do so. The fund of information washing around these clubs is endless and of an excellent standard.
Once the plants have been obtained and the temperatures are up, harden them off before planting out full-time. Hardening off means putting them outside for a few hours each day. This is to soften the shock between life on the warm windowsill, or snug greenhouse and the contrasting chilly climate outdoors.
h4. All bets off?
When the weather is really safe, hopefully in the first half of June, you should be able to plant them out. (If not, after last year’s miserable summer, all bets might be off as mass exodus from the country will put paid to all gardening plans.) In any case err on the side of caution and do not put them out too soon.
Courgettes are simply young marrows and sometimes called summer squashes.
They take up quite an amount of space. Each plant can take up more than a square metre of space. But they are very productive, and therefore worth the space. They are also pretty.
They can be grown in a big container like a half-barrel or something the same size raised up off the ground as a grand eye-catching feature — perhaps in the middle of a small garden.
The flowers are gorgeous and can be eaten deep-fried. The fruits can be cucumber-shaped or round. ‘Rondo de nice’ is a good round courgette while ‘Patriot’ and ‘Defender’ are tasty traditional-types.
h4. Transplant carefully
They dislike being disturbed, so transplant the little plants carefully when moving them to their permanent home. This should be good and fertile. Some people grow them on top of the compost heap which suits the plants, as the food and heat generated in the heap serves them well. The massed leaves also make the compost heap look considerably better than it will otherwise look.
Once the plant starts to grow, any loose or straggling growth can be pegged into position within the space available. This applies more to squashes and pumpkins than courgettes. Keep the weeds away and water plants regularly until established. When production starts, pick the fruits regularly or they will grow large, become marrows and the plant will stop producing new fruits. The smaller the courgette the tastier it will be.
Beans should be planted in the sunniest, most sheltered, wind-free spot you can afford them. They will also need to be protected for a few weeks from slugs once planted out. Put copper slug rings around the little plants.
Once the young leaves toughen up a bit, the slugs will ignore them and the rings can be removed for use elsewhere. If planting them directly into the soil erect a double row of supports, tied tent-like at the top. Leave about 45cm between each cane and plant two plants per support.
Dwarf cultivars can be planted about 20cm apart and while the larger plants need two-metre tall supports, dwarf plants can manage on pea sticks intertwined. As the pods develop, water regularly and this will help them swell.
Pick the beans as soon as they are large enough. Check the plants thoroughly every second day. It is amazing how fast they can appear and turn into long, stringy monsters if left to their own devices. The whole pod can be eaten if it can be snapped open. When it goes beyond that stage, the young beans inside can be taken out and eaten fresh. They must be cooked, however, as they contain a toxin when raw.
Plants stop producing if you stop picking. The recommendation is generally to leave some pods on the plant to dry and become haricots. But fresh beans are incomparably delicious and always expensive to buy. Good-quality dried haricot beans can be bought easily and cheaply. I would eat them all fresh or freeze the surplus. ‘Blue Lake’ and ‘Cobra’ are good climbers. ‘The Prince’ is a dwarf worth trying.
Runner beans are another tender crop worth growing for both looks and taste. For good looks, ‘Painted Lady’ and ‘Scarlet Emperor’ are hard to beat. Runner beans can grow up to three metres, becoming very heavy plants so be prepared to give them sturdy supports. Put the supports into the ground before the plants.
The same applies to French beans and even peas. (Spearing the roots of small plants with afterthought supports is inadvisable.)
Runner beans can be planted closer than French beans: Leave about 15cm between plants and 60cm between rows. Good fertile deep soil is vital as well as a sunny wind-free spot. Digging a load of compost into the trench sometime before planting is a good idea. Once planted, add a layer of mulch to hold in moisture. Water them well when the weather is dry. If the soil is acid, add lime. Pick the pods when they are about 15-20 cm long. Excess beans can be frozen.
h4. Squashes and sweet corn
Runner beans came from South America where they were traditionally planted in the same beds as squashes and sweet corn. The idea was that the sweet corn would grow tall and the beans would use those strong stems as climbing supports. The two together could then shield the squashes from harsh sun.
While harsh sun is some way from the top of the lists of gardening woes in Ireland, I know some gardeners who use the method these days and swear by growing all three crops in this interdependent way.