I visited an organic vegetable market some time ago and bought a punnet of scrawny looking beans just because they were organic. They were a terrible advert for organically grown vegetables.  

So I took up the challenge and decided to grow my own. 

I bought a small packet of climbing beans to try as an experiment. But before planting them I livened up the soil with compost till it looked rich and friable. 

My beans shot up so quickly that I had to rush to stake them in time.  It seemed like a case of Jack and the beanstalk. The leaves were lush and disease and insect free and in an amazingly short time they started to produce as if they were going out of fashion. 

But best of all, my beans were bigger, juicier, fresher and healthier than any of the beans that I subsequently saw in any commercial vegetable store. 

Now I had only planted about 20 bean seeds in all, but from this small sampling I was able to harvest more than enough for our own household as well as beans by the basketful for family and friends. 

Why did my beans grow so well? 

I put it down to four important factors. 

1. The fact that the “brand” of beans I chose grew well in our area. 

2. Secondly the fact that I planted them in a sunny position

3. Thirdly that I enriched the soil with compost before planting them.

4. Lastly the fact that I staked the beans properly for climbing using bamboo and wire for the infrastructure