Many vegetable plants are annuals, meaning they need to be replanted every year. However, one gardener has revealed a potential way to get your runner beans to come back year after year.
The scoop
Jamie Walton (@nettlesandpetals) is a content creator with more than 1 million followers on Instagram. They share gardening content to help you get the most out of your home hobby, everything from eradicating pests to building a backyard oasis.
In one clip, they explain that certain varieties of beans can come back annually: “Sow once and then harvest from for multiple years.”
Runner beans are a type of purple shelling bean that Jamie explains can survive the long winter in certain climates. All you need to do is a little prep to keep them safe. They also explain that in their region, temperatures rarely drop below negative-6 degrees Celsius (approximately 20 degrees Fahrenheit), so this tip won’t work in harsher climates.
If you want to give it a shot, you will need to start by removing all of the beans from your plant. Next, trim back the plant to around six inches and carefully remove everything, including the trellis. This will leave you with a tiny stem sticking out of the ground; trim it down to ground level, and cover it over with compost and a generous layer of mulch.
This will hopefully keep the roots safe and warm enough to wake up after winter hibernation. Using this technique, you should be able to regrow your beans for several years.
How it’s helping
Gardening is a great way to get your hands dirty and connect with nature more often. Plus, you can save money by limiting your trips to the grocery store. Many people who grow their own vegetables are able to harvest hundreds of dollars’ worth of produce every season.
Even if you don’t have a full yard, you can still grow some food in small planters or even on your countertop. Green onions can be grown in a jar, and there are small varieties of carrots specialized for tight spaces.
Homegrown food also reduces your pollution footprint. According to Carbon Brief, food miles, or the distance food has to travel to your plate, “account[s] for almost one-fifth of total food system emissions.”
There isn’t a much shorter distance than walking out to your yard.
What everyone’s saying
Commenters were happy to learn about reducing their need to replant every year.
One person had seen a similar post, sharing, “I followed your last year’s post and left runner bean roots over winter with straw mulch. 80% survived.”
Someone else said, “Wow! I did not know this! Will defo be trying that this year. Thank you.”
Another gardener was thankful for the advice, adding, “I had no idea! Going to try this.”
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