🫛 French bean

French beans are quick, slender, tender beans without strings, and they crop heavily from midsummer through to the first frosts. They are easier than runner beans and flower more reliably in hot weather, and dwarf types suit pots and small plots.

Pods come in green, yellow (wax), purple and speckled colours. Climbing varieties crop for longer and use vertical space, while dwarf varieties need no support. Many can also be left to mature and dried as haricot beans.

Varieties to try

Safari (dwarf, slim, very tender)Purple Teepee (purple pods, easy to spot)Cobra (climbing, long season)Blue Lake (climbing, classic)Maxi (dwarf, French filet type)Golddukat (yellow wax bean)

Sow indoors from mid-April to May in individual pots, 5 cm deep, at 15–18°C, and plant out in late May to June once the frosts have gone. Alternatively, sow directly outdoors from mid-May to early July, 5 cm deep, 10–15 cm apart for dwarf types, in rows 45 cm apart.

Soil should be warm, well-drained and fertile. Give climbing types wigwams or rows of canes 1.8–2.4 m tall. Sow every three weeks for a continuous supply. Cold, wet soil rots seed, so wait for warmth if the weather is poor.

Top tips

• Wait for warm soil.
• Sow every three weeks.
• Start early crops in pots.
• Supply canes for climbers.

Water regularly, especially during flowering and pod formation, and mulch to retain moisture. Feed with a tomato fertiliser every two weeks once flowers appear. Dwarf types may benefit from twiggy sticks for support, and from earthing up the stems.

Slugs love young plants, and blackfly can colonise the growing tips. Remove infested tips and use traps. Watering and mulching prevent flowers dropping. Avoid working among wet plants to avoid spreading bean rust and other diseases.

Top tips

• Water at flowering and podding.
• Mulch to keep roots cool.
• Protect from slugs when small.
• Avoid handling wet plants.

Watch out for

SlugsBlackflyBean rustFlower drop in drought

Begin harvesting dwarf varieties after 8–10 weeks, and climbers a little later. Pick pods when they are about 10–15 cm long, slim and snap cleanly, before the seeds inside swell. Pick every two or three days, as regular picking keeps plants producing for weeks.

Use two hands, one to hold the plant and the other to pick, or use scissors. Pods picked young are sweet and tender; overgrown pods become stringy. Harvest in the morning, and eat or process soon after picking.

Top tips

• Pick every 2–3 days.
• Pick young and slim.
• Use scissors to avoid damaging stems.
• Pick in the morning.

Top and tail the pods and steam or boil for 3–5 minutes until just tender but still crisp. Serve with butter, in salads, or with tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. They are good in stir-fries, stews and pasta, and they pickle well (dilly beans). Yellow and purple types are particularly attractive in salads, though purple pods turn green on cooking.

Fresh pods keep for up to a week in the fridge in a bag. To freeze, top and tail, blanch for 2 minutes, cool quickly, and freeze whole or sliced for up to a year. Leave a few pods to mature on the plant and dry the beans for winter use.

Top tips

• Cook briefly to keep crunch.
• Blanch for 2 minutes before freezing.
• Pickle surplus beans.
• Dry mature beans for soups.