RUNNER beans and new potatoes fresh from the plot — now that’s a match made in heaven...

Both are nutrient hungry and moisture thirsty and, while it is a tad late (what gardener isn’t..?), there is still time to ensure the beans are successful.

Ideally, a composting trench should have been laid in autumn or winter, but if you reduce quantity and increase the depth, it will still stop moisture draining away and do some good.

Put grass and vegetable waste, mixed with a bit of seaweed if you can get it, at the bottom of bean trenches, dug to a depth of a spit and a half and cover with a mix of soil and compost. 

Moisture will be retained for the ravenous runner roots above.

It’s a good idea to make the runner framework after creating the trench, but before planting to avoid further disturbance to the roots.

Runners can soon be started in the greenhouse in pots or trays — I personally favour this because rodents in my plot eat the nutritious germinating seed, if it’s out in the open — and planted out from mid-April to early May.

Potatoes can be planted now in nutrient rich, friable, moisture retentive soil. 

If you have already put some in tubs in the greenhouse, continue to bank them up as green haulms press through the surface.

Rich garden soil, bought-in compost or a mix of spent growing bag compost and compost from the heap, can be used. 

I personally mix in some seaweed from the beach to impart extra goodness.

Of course, the earlier you can get a crop the better, but it’s always best to plant a mix of first and second earlies to ensure a bit of a succession.

This year, I am experimenting with a variant nicked from commercial growers.

We have all seen the ribbons of clear plastic, laced into the ground by farmers, in their quest to produce early and best-priced crops.

So, as an experiment, I have pegged clear plastic over half the potato patch, so we can compare results between the two halves.

It might give me glorious taste of the good earth a couple of weeks’ early.
                                                                      TOP TIPS

  • Start ventilating greenhouses and cold frames on warm days. Don't forget to move plants from the greenhouse to a cold frame for a week before planting out, to let them harden-off, especially if chilly weather is on the cards.
  • Build a compost heap, or buy a bin, before the growing season gets underway. If you already have one, check to see if there is any compost ready to use on vegetable beds. 
  • Move bags of compost into the greenhouse to warm up for a week or two before using for sowing.
  • Get rid of slime on patios and paving by scrubbing with a broom or blasting with a pressure washer.
  • Install water butts to a downpipe for the season ahead to help mitigate against increasingly dry summers.