French beans Growing Guide
French beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are an easy-to-grow crop, suitable for various garden sizes, including both climbing and dwarf types. They produce delicious stringless pods in green, yellow, or dark purple and are ideal for warm, sunny spots for summer harvests. Dwarf varieties are compact (up to 45cm tall) and fast-cropping, perfect for containers, while climbing varieties (up to 2m tall) need tall supports and produce a crop over a longer period.
This guidance applies to the crop in general. Individual varieties and local conditions can differ.
Planting information
For early crops, sow indoors from late April, one bean 5cm deep per small pot or deep module of moist peat-free compost; keep warm and bright. Direct sow 5cm deep after the last frost once the soil has warmed, usually in late May or early June. Make small successive sowings for a longer harvest. Grow dwarf beans in blocks or double rows and give climbers strong tall supports, following the chosen variety's dates and spacing. Harden off young plants and water well before and after planting. Dwarf beans suit pots 30-45cm wide; climbers need containers at least 75cm wide and 45cm deep with supports. Water during dry spells and mulch with compost. Ground-grown beans need no extra feeding. Feed container-grown beans fortnightly with a high-potassium liquid fertiliser once flowers appear, following the product directions.
Harvesting information
Pick pods when they are 15–20cm long, snap easily, and before the individual beans can be seen through the pod. Regular harvesting stimulates plants to produce more pods. Dwarf French beans will crop for several weeks, and climbing varieties will crop for much longer, from mid-summer to early autumn if picked regularly. For seed saving, leave a few pods to fully mature and dry on the plant, then pick, remove seeds, and store in a labelled paper bag somewhere cool and dry over winter. After harvesting has finished, cut plants down to the base and compost them, or leave the roots in the ground to boost soil nitrogen levels.
Storage information
Refrigerate freshly picked pods for short-term storage. For longer storage, blanch and cool the pods before freezing. For saving seeds, store dried seeds in a labelled paper bag somewhere cool and dry over winter.