Seed Savers Exchange
Bean, Climbing French
Phaseolus vulgaris
- Staff Favorite
- Excellent for fresh eating
- Snap bean
- Stringless pods
- Lilac flowers
- Pole habit
- 65-75 days
- Packet of 50 Seeds
The beans of this historic variety are excellent for fresh eating—especially when picked young and tender—and its vines bear beautiful lilac flowers. Sweet, stringless, and flavorful off the vine (kids love them!), the snappy, green 4-7" pods cradle shiny, dark-purple seeds when mature. Ever popular, it was once the most widely grown French climbing bean in England, according to The Beans of New York (1931). Pole habit, snap, 65-75 days.
Learn To Grow It
This crop can be direct seeded into warm soil after the last spring frost. If you sow a section or row every two or three weeks, you can get a continuous crop.
Sow seeds outdoors after danger of frost has passed and soil and air temperatures have warmed. Harvest frequently for increased yields.
As this plant grows it may need support in the form of a trellis to keep the vines off the ground. You won't need to fertilize this crop in order to get a healthy yield.
These plants prefer warm weather and soil so they should be grown when temperatures are over 68 degrees F. You should avoid watering them from above as damp leaves may be susceptible to disease.
