Not full of beans

scarlet runner blossom failure

See those vertical green bits sticking up from the flower stem?  See the lovely bean pods developing at the tips?  No?  Neither do I!  This happens every time we plant Scarlet Runners.  Weeks, months (I don't know how long; I'll pay more attention this year) of red blossoms shriveling and falling off the plant, leaving nothing but a blunt useless stub behind.  Why? I ask.  Answers from the interweb brain trust: 
No pollination.  But there are bees and other insects around, and the other beans are making pods.
Too hot.  That would be a great explanation for this instance, but it's not always hot at the start of the blossom run.
That's just how these beans operate.  Now there is an answer I can cope with.  Not my fault.  Nothing to do but wait, which will be easier once I have scientifically determined when I can expect the first pods to form.  (It's easy to stop looking for beans and suddenly one find a 10-inch bod dangling inside the pyramid of vines.)  I would like to know why they operate this way, though.  Doesn't seem proper.

orca bush beans

The Orca bean plants appear to be struggling with the heat (limp, yellowing leaves), yet still manage to produce velvety little pods by the time the blossom falls off.  Same goes for the Maxibel French Filet beans over the pea fence and the Ina's White beans across the path.  Full of beans they are.  The Rattlesnake beans haven't even opened any of their purple blossoms yet.  Spending too much energy fending off slugs, maybe.  I have been trying to alleviate the slug nuisance, hand picking them in the dewy early morning and sending them to slug heaven (a plastic yogurt tub with a hole cut in the lid and a cm of kosher salt in the bottom).






Pole beans are generally good about winding around whatever they were planted next to.  They sometimes need a little persuasion to stick with the pole instead of going for that nearby stalk of dill.  One might insist on climbing the pole two over from where it was planted.  Their reasons are unfathomable to a human, but I'm sure they are valid in their own way.  Climb which ever pole you like, as long as it is in the same bed as your roots.  It does get crowded at the top where the poles come together, which may explain why a bine would reach out for new territory.  Of course, this one may just be grape-curious.

single bean bine seeks grape vine for mutually supportive relationship