French Beans

mardatha

I quite like the tinned French beans, is it possible to grow them up here in a short cool growing season? Are they easy?

wellused

I don't know which variety the tin ones are but I grew dwarf French beans easy peasy.

DaftyDuck

They are quick growers, quite tough. Not keen on frost (broad beans being tougher there) Depends if your "up a hill" is Ben Nevis! Seed is cheap, growing is fun, go for it, and let us know if it worked.

mardatha

Am at 1000ft so not Ben Nevis lol. Could I grow them after 1st June (frost free date) without running out of time?

seemasfriend

No problem growing after 1st June. I didn't sow seeds until second week in June last year and had masses of beans - dwarf, French and runner.

mardatha

Brilliant thank you!

WestonDave

You can either grow them as dwarf beans (small ground plants) or as climbers. We've grown Blue Lake as a climber - just train it up canes like runner beans - kids prefer them to runners so we grow them.

We start ours indoors on the window sill and then plant outside once the frost risk is over.

mardatha

Are they prone to pests?

seemasfriend

Only grandchildren!

mardatha

Well we're all prone to them eh.. Endemic!

poppysarah

Blue Lake french beans supposed to be good.