One I tried in my pursuit of good dwarf beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) to produce dry beans in Ireland. I sourced ‘Aura’ from Poland where it is grown on large scale and was reported to be a very early maturing variety and highly resistant to diseases. It was both those in 2023 where it produced a healthy crop of dry beans in the very wet and windy summer.
Strong stems which keep the beans off the ground and prevent the crop from lodging. Plants are about 40cm tall and flowers are white. When ripe the pods are pale yellow. If weather is bad when ready to be harvested the whole plants can be pulled up and brought inside to dry before shelling.
Wait until the soil has warmed up sufficiently if direct sowing. This means May/June in Ireland. Sow ~10cm apart in rows with 50cm between.
The Orca (Orcaaasaa♫aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa … Orca .. Killer Whale) Bean is a dwarf french bean known for it’s distinctive pattern on the dry seed. Grown this year to mark the 22nd anniversary of an infamous fishing trip taken by three killer whales to Cork City.
Also known as the ‘Ying Yang Bean’ … for some reason. They can be eaten as fresh beans or used like haricot beans when dried. Wait until the soil has warmed up sufficiently if direct sowing. This means May/June in Ireland. Sow ~10cm apart in rows with 50cm. Can be sown a few weeks earlier in a polytunnel or glasshouse.
A long podded french bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) which yields heavily. Pods are dark green, round and 17-19cm length. Resistant to bean mosaic virus and anthracnose. Wait until the soil has warmed up sufficiently if direct sowing. This means May/June in Ireland. Sow ~10cm apart in rows with 50cm.
On a home scale climbing french beans are more productive than dwarf varieties. French beans also yield more in a glasshouse or polytunnel. However, with market gardening in mind, it is not so practical to support large numbers of plants and tunnel space is precious. So I am interested in how productive dwarf french beans can be when grown outside in Ireland. I hope to do a proper variety trial soon. It would be important to have varieties with different maturation rates to spread out the harvest window. Caruso is considered a mid season variety.
An old French variety of climbing bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Can be eaten young as green beans or allowed to mature and be harvested as dry beans. The dry beans have a striking cream and purple/brown mottled pattern and can be used in stews, casseroles and the like. In Ireland, french beans can be sown directly outside in June when the soil is sufficiently warm. Alternatively, you can plant them indoors in pots a few weeks beforehand to give them a head start on slugs when planted out.
An early maturing variety which crops well and is resistant to pea wilt and downy mildew. Short growing at around 50cm tall. 6-8 sweet flavoured peas per pod. It is good to make two sowings, in Spring and again in early Summer, to extend the harvesting period.
