Hi, my scarlet runner beans are dying from the ground up to top of my frame. It is in flower and we are harvesting several beans which look and taste ok, but the leaves are dying. Do have any idea as to why this is happening? I brought new seeds at the beginning of spring. Thanks.

Hi Bob, there could be several reasons for this happening. It can be caused by a fungus in the soil entering the plant through the roots, which happens if the soil is poorly  drained, the plant is overwatered, or if the plant has dried out at some stage and then watered, causing the plant roots to burst, soil borne fungal diseases enter the plant through the roots. It could be weather related caused by either too hot, wet, warm, humid weather. Some common diseases beans are susceptible to are blight, rust, powdery mildew and fusarium root rot. There are fungicide sprays available from garden centres to help prevent disease, copper based sprays are a good protectant against  diseases such as blight and powdery mildew, but not soil borne diseases. A few things you can do to help are to make sure bean crops are rotated and not grown in the same spot each year, give wider spacing to plants to improve air circulation, make sure they are planted in a well drained soil, dig in plenty of compost or well rotted plant material to improve the soil. Consistent watering and regular feeding are important, as well as planting varieties that are disease resistant. Collect up fallen plant material and dispose of in the rubbish or burn rather than place in the compost. Lianne