I suspect a few of you have seen this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/takeabreath. I posted a comment. I hope you will too.

[Oxygeniser]

This simple, fun, idea encourages positivity and sharing and that has to be good. Today really is the perfect day when it comes to weather. Here in Beeston, Nottingham, it’s 18 degrees, a little overcast and pleasantly warm, which makes the day perfect for me with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, the perfect place to ‘take a breath’ and smell the runner beans before I pick them and steam them for six minutes before serving with butter. I will know that I have grown and cooked them to perfection if they squeak when I take the first bite. Today, breathe in the best you can, then breathe out and enjoy being in your favourite place. Here’s wishing a happy moment and a smile . Take care, Robert aka Kevin.

[Bkin]

Wonderful crop of beans Robert, great FB link also thanks for sharing.

Happy easy breathing day

[Damon1864 Volunteer]

That's a fantastic crop of beans I love growing my own fruit and veg. Have a good day and take care 😊 Bernadette and Jack 🐕 xxxxxx

[Jaybird19]

That is brilliant . On a trellis . They do look lovely. You have fed them well to get such a lot

[Kristicats]

They look great. The Nottinghamshire weather is working for them!

[Oxygeniser]

Thanks all for nice comments. I grow beans, courgettes, perpetual spinach and curly parsley against our living room wall. I have other troughs with rocket and beetroot on the kitchen fence. Feeds us for several months each year. Take care all. Robert

The runner beans form part of my vertical vegetable garden.

[Izb1 in reply to Oxygeniser]

Wow fantastic way to grow beans and so neat x

[Oxygeniser in reply to Izb1]

Thanks Izb1. Usually have four plants per tub but this has not been a good year . Tubs and troughs seem to protect from snails etc and means I can let more of the garden to run deliberately wild. Have a good day. Robert

[HungryHufflepuff]

That looks amazing. Congratulations on growing these lovely vegetables.

I wonder why nothing grows here 🙄

[Oxygeniser in reply to HungryHufflepuff]

Okay, the bunny wins. My enemy at ground level is snails, despite four wildlife ponds and loads of frogs, but would trade a load of greens to have your bunny Hufflepuff. Take care- Robert.

[Izb1 in reply to HungryHufflepuff]

Your photo is amazing HH x

[HungryHufflepuff in reply to Izb1]

Thank you 😊 Plenty of bunnies in pots. And I think I figured out who's eating the things growing in my car. I've seen blackbird flying in or out when I go past!

Different pot, different bunny!

[Izb1 in reply to HungryHufflepuff]

I wonder why they like going in pots, its cute x

[HungryHufflepuff in reply to Izb1]

I think they started looking in the pots when the seeds started growing and making juicy new plants, then they figured out the pots make bunny sized beds 😴

[Izb1 in reply to HungryHufflepuff]

Ha! ha! ha! So funny x

[Jaybird19 in reply to HungryHufflepuff]

Very satisfied looking bùnny. 5 stars eatery on local Rabbit News

[Caspiana]

Hello Robert aka Kevin. I am envious, eighteen degrees sounds great as we are still dealing with thirty six degree heat here. But it has allowed my chili 🌶️ plants to grow and prosper. Your beans look absolutely delicious. Have a great day. 😃👋

Fresh chili

[Oxygeniser in reply to Caspiana]

Thanks Caspiana - Peppers are my limit. Chillis sit up with hot weather. As for runner beans, they are life-defining. Have a lovely - Robert.

[Izb1 in reply to Caspiana]

Your chillies look very healthy Caspiana. Couldnt cope with that heat , my hormones have gone haywire in our 20 degrees here in Manchester lol x

[Caspiana in reply to Izb1]

It is very stifling Irene. Luckily I have the air-conditioning, In the U.K. you don't have much air-conditioning. I think maybe in future with the rise in temperature it may become more common. xx 😟

[Izb1 in reply to Caspiana]

No aircon but I do have ceiling fans and was thinking of upgrading these as I think like you our summers will get hotter. We had aircon when I lived in Hong Kong and found that I felt the heat more so didnt use it much x

[Caspiana in reply to Izb1]

Yes, it's not good to have it on too much. I think it could easily make one ill. But then the heat now is not what it was like thirty years ago. Back then anything over thirty degrees was considered abnormal. In some areas of Japan this summer the record went up to forty degrees. 😱

[ninelives in reply to Caspiana]

Gorgeous chillies.Hubby left me in charge of his precious chilli plants for 2,weeks.

Big mistake ,think I killed them with love and overwatering it will be some time before I am forgiven...

[Caspiana in reply to ninelives]

They can be very tempremental. And they need a certain amount of heat , sunshine and water . Not the easiest plant in my humble opinion, so don't feel too bad ninelives . xx 👋😃

[ninelives in reply to Caspiana]

Bless you.Whenever I reach for the now shop bought ones I am gently reminded that I lack chill horticultural skills.

Our daughter however is a natural ,reckon this vital skill is in the oriental genes (hubby is from Asia).

Love that you pickle your crop.

[Caspiana in reply to ninelives]

😃 I'm afraid we Asians eat chili almost from birth. So I guess we just know it so well. xx 😅

[Caspiana]

Pickled them too.

Pickled chili 🌶️.

[garshe]

My favourite. My lovely Dad used to grow kidney beans. I like to eat them with butter on. I now buy them from M&S the stringless ones, so easy no peeling just slice and cook. We are having some today with Sunday roast .Mmm cant edit. Your look delicious xx Sheila 👍🥒🥒💕

Ps. Unfortunately I cant get into the facenook page. 😥

[nina30795]

What a fabulous crop! You obviously have very green fingers. They look delicious! Enjoy!!!

[Oxygeniser in reply to nina30795]

Thank you Nina, but the last thing I have is green fingers, except when it comes to runner beans. We never go away overnight from the moment I plant the first bean to after we have eaten the last crop. The thought of a plate of beans and a piece of haddock, steamed together for c.six minutes is my idea of heaven on a plate. The final touch being a nob of slightly salted butter on top. Oh, and a small homemade roll to mop up ‘the liquor’ as my grandfather used to call it and I still do. Probably, this will be our lunch this coming Wednesday when the next beans will be ready for picking. When you’re ‘a half-day person’ like me these things matter and add to my determination to be doing this same time next year. Thanks again Nina. Take care- Robert.

[nina30795 in reply to Oxygeniser]

That sounds absolutely delicious Robert! I’d love to join you for a lunch like that. Just my kind of meal. I was very lucky because my next door neighbour, who has green fingers like you, has just given me a bag of homegrown green beans and a huge courgette. So I may even join you with some, probably salmon or bream, rather than haddock.I’m much better at hanging baskets and flowers rather than veggies. My back porch is still a riot of colour even though the weather has turned. Last year I tried to grow tomatoes, courgettes, butternut, and garlic and they were all a dismal failure.Thank goodness that the supply chain did not fail us otherwise my husband and I would have starved! Warmly, Nina XXX

[Oxygeniser in reply to nina30795]

Thank you Nina for your kind words. If we were neighbours I would happily trade runner beans for help with hanging baskets. Take care, stay safe, Robert.

[ninelives]

Loved the link and the vision of home grown runner beans steamed with butter mmm wonderful...

[Oxygeniser in reply to ninelives]

Thank you Ninelives. Take care - Robert .

[Jaybird19]

I am sure you will have enjoyed your beans. Mine last night were lovely but not homegrown . No where to grow them now but these shown must have been in a container against the wall . So I might just try in a pot next year.

[Jaybird19]

Just found your second photo and it shows the beans growing in an ordinary pot. I thought they needed a deep run . What do you give them for food? What direction do they face . My wall faces SW and used to grow tomatoes there and they thrived until we built a balcony on the fĺoor above and this took some light away . Now we can buy those specific cherry( piccolo )tomatoes in some shops, but not quite as good as home grown fresh off the vine so I have flowers there. Your wall is stupendous , looks fantastic .

[Oxygeniser in reply to Jaybird19]

Hello Jaybird (a lovely choice of name by the way), The wall the tubs stand in front of is west facing. The secret is to water them daily. I found my tubs twenty years ago in a general home store called Wilkco’s and I plant them in peat-free tomato compost. I don’t feed them anything but love and tenderness. I plant the seeds individually into used 1 litre washed out milk cartons I cut the tops off. I punch holes in the bottom and when ready to plant out (four to a tub), I remove from the cartons. What runner beans need is light and water and for me, since I was a small child, the magic has been in watching them grow. From what you have said you can grow them successfully, of that I am sure. Here’s to 2022 and seeing your photos here. Take care. Robert.