Growing french beans

Overview

French beans are the same species as haricot, kidney and borlotti beans, and the varieties are bred either for tender pods eaten whole or for seeds that are dried. They come as compact dwarf bushes about 45 cm tall or as climbers that reach 2 m. They are more tolerant of hot spells than runners and self-pollinate, so pods set reliably.

Varieties to try

'Cobra' is a heavy-cropping climber with stringless green pods and pretty violet flowers. 'Blue Lake' is a long-standing climber that can be picked green or dried. Among dwarfs, 'Purple Teepee' holds its purple pods above the leaves for easy picking, and 'Safari' gives very fine, slender beans. 'Borlotto Lingua di Fuoco' produces red-streaked pods for drying.

Soil and site

Best soil: Warm, well-drained, fertile soil that has been improved with compost.

Choose a warm, sunny spot with good drainage; French beans sulk and rot in cold, wet ground. Add compost before sowing but avoid fresh manure. Climbing varieties need a sheltered position and firm supports, while dwarfs fit neatly into small beds, raised beds or 30 cm pots.

Sowing and planting

For an early start, sow in pots indoors in late April or May and plant out after the last frost once hardened off. Outdoors, sow 5 cm deep from late May once the soil feels warm to the hand, ideally under fleece at first. Sow a second batch of dwarf beans in late June or early July for picking into September.

Spacing: Dwarf types 15 cm apart in rows 45 cm apart; climbers one per cane, 15–20 cm apart.

Care

Water regularly once flowers appear, as dry soil reduces pod numbers. Mulch to keep roots cool. Dwarf plants can flop when heavy with pods, so pull a little soil up around the stems or push in short twiggy sticks. Climbers usually twine without much help once they reach their canes.

Harvesting and storing

Pick pods when they snap cleanly in half and the beans inside are still small, usually when they are about the thickness of a pencil. Frequent picking keeps plants flowering. For dried beans, leave pods on the plant until they turn papery, then shell and dry the beans fully before storing in jars.

Common problems

Slugs are the main threat to emerging seedlings; sowing in pots and planting out larger plants helps a lot. Blackfly and other aphids can cluster on shoot tips, so rub them off by hand. Seeds rotting in the ground is almost always down to cold, wet soil, so be patient with timing.

Read more on the problems that most often hit french beans:

• Aphids
• Frost damage
• Glasshouse whitefly
• Red spider mite
• Slugs and snails

Not sure what you're looking at? Try diagnosing it by symptom.

Month-by-month reminders

Jobs for french beans come round in April, May, June, July, August and September. Each month page lists the rest of the garden's jobs for the same weeks.

Grow alongside

• Runner beans
• Peas
• Courgettes

Sources

Names follow Kew's Plants of the World Online; timings and spacings reflect UK growing practice and were checked against the references below. Text is our own. See our editorial policy.

• Kew Plants of the World Online — Phaseolus vulgaris
• Wikipedia — Phaseolus vulgaris