In the November Kitchen Garden.... Dwarf Beans

November is time for the bush or French beans and also the perennial climbing beans.  They do not like the cold so simply won’t germinate before the ground reaches the required temperature. If you happen to have climbing beans like Scarlet Runner planted at the back of your border, you will know that the time is right when they start poking their heads through the ground.

I really like dwarf beans and if you are starting out in the vege patch then this is a good choice for you.  Good for children too as easy to grow and fun to pick.  The seeds are a good size for small fingers plus you don’t need to climb them up anything so no special frames are needed. I also like to do at least 2 different colours – green ones and butter beans which look very pretty on the plate. A very versatile vegetable – great cold in salads or the usual way with your dinner.

The day before sowing you can take the seeds out and soak in a bowl –this should give you a bit of a head start.  Your soil should have been well nourished over winter with plenty of rotted manure or compost added. If not dig over well and add compost and blood and bone before planting. They do like to be fed well.

Make a trench about 2 cm deep and sow the seed about 10 cm apart. Cover with soil to a depth of 2 cm and water.  Do a double row – one of green and one of yellow. They should germinate fairly quickly and if you plant now you should be eating beans in the New Year.  If you have left over seeds then plant a few in pots. These are good to tuck in where others have not germinated of pop into any gaps in the garden.

When the pods are ready start picking and keep picking – they will keep producing beans if you keep harvesting them! The good thing is that you eat beans in many ways and can also freeze them. Cut off each end, slice to your preferred size and blanch for a minute or two in boiling water. Put straight into icy cold water to stop cooking. Drain and pop into serving size portions in a snap lock bag.

Sow another crop in after Christmas to keep the season extended. You can all sorts of gourmet or heirloom beans now and it’s fun to try new varieties or colours. Last year I grew a row of purple ones which looked fabulous on the vine but cooked to a bit of a lack luster colour.  Will try again and experiment with a nicer way to cook!  Look at some of the seed companies on line (like Kings Seeds) or check out the seed stand at your nearest garden centre.