How to grow them
Sow 5cm deep once the soil is warm in mid May, or in pots under cover in April. Sow again in June and July for beans into October. They hate cold, wet soil, so do not rush the first sowing.
Peas and beans
French beans
Dwarf plants that need no canes, and crop within eight weeks of sowing.
- Buy as
- Seed
- Space
- 15cm between plants, 45cm between rows
- Position
- Full sun
- Rotation
- Peas and beans
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Frost
- Tender: killed by frost. Nothing outside until the last one has passed.
The year
Sow indoors
Sow outdoors
Plant out
Harvest
When to pick
Pick while the pods are pencil-thin and before the beans show through. Pick often.
What goes wrong
Problems, and what to do
Slugs and snails
They take seedlings. Sow a few spares in pots.
Seeds rotting
The soil was too cold. Wait, or warm it under a cloche for two weeks first.
Blackfly
Wash off with water.
Good neighbours: Potatoes, Strawberries, Sweetcorn.