French Climbing Bean – Cosse Violette

£5.99

Decorative, flavoursome and easy to grow
Producing amazing purple pods, this French climbing bean is easy to grow, has a lovely flavour and will harvest over many weeks during the summer.

ORDER NOW FOR DELIVERY IN SPRING 2020

Number of plants: 10

Variety: Cosse Violette

Can be grown in: Pots and containers, grow bags, raised beds. They will need support to climb. Find out more about growing climbing beans in our growing guide below.

In the kitchen: Top and tail, place in boiling water and cook until tender. The beautiful deep purple pods will turn dark green on cooking.

Can be delivered from: late April to July. These plants will arrive bare-rooted with an approximate height of 10-20cm.

Transplants suitable for organic growing.

Choosing a site for growing veg

The right site

Beans are perfect for a sunny, well-drained spot. They prefer to grow in moist, fertile soil in a sheltered location away from strong winds. Avoid growing beans in very wet soils.

growing veg in pots and raised beds

Can be grown in....

Raised beds or patio pots. Most of them will need something to climb up (particularly runner beans and borlotti beans). You can make a wigwam out of bamboo canes or try our bean and pea planter.

Autumn Winter Large Vegetable Garden

How far apart?

The spacing is completely dependent on the variety you choose, and we’ll advise you what’s best for your baby plants when you receive them.

When your plants arrive....

Your baby plants will arrive carefully packed in straw. They may look a little tired from their travels. This is quite normal but, as soon as possible, carefully unpack them all.

Each type of plant will have an identification label to help you spot which they are. Lay them out into their respective plant types (e.g. lettuce, cauliflower, peas). Then, stand them upright, being especially careful with the ones that aren’t in bio pots. The roots may be dry, so give them all a good drink of water by submerging the roots for a few minutes in a container of clean water.

Now you are ready to plant your Rocket Garden. Try to do this within 24 hours of the arrival of your plants.

Looking after your plants....

If your plants arrive while it’s still a bit chilly, in April/early May, it’s worth planting them in pots and popping them in the greenhouse or on a windowsill until it warms up a bit.

Beans

The more you pick, the more they grow

Harvest beans regularly to encourage growth of new beans.

Beans

They're thirsty - water them well

Beans and peas need to be watered well and regularly. Don’t let them dry out.

Beans

Weed regularly

Keep weeds down so that they have a better chance of growing up nice and strong!

Watch out for....

  • Birds

They're ready to harvest when....

You can pick them as soon as they reach the size you want them. The more frequently you pick them, the more beans and peas the plant will produce. If you find any really large beans that don’t look very tasty, you can let them dry out on the plant.

Storage Tips

If you’d like to dry the beans out, wait until they have dried out on the plants. Then, pick them and leave them to dry out in a nice dry place before you shell them. Keep the beans in an airtight container. (Don’t forget to soak them again before you cook them!)

Ways to cook

Beans are simply delicious steamed and served with a  drizzle of olive oil. But you can get a bit more inventive…runner bean chutney is seriously good!

Recipe Idea

 

Coming soon!

When we deliver
We usually deliver these plants through into July, although it’s a little dependent on the weather.

You can order from…
These plants are available to be ordered now and we’ll despatch them as soon as they are big enough to both handle the journey to your garden and handle life outside the poly tunnel.

Do I need to sign for them?
All our plant orders are dispatched with an overnight courier* to mainland UK and do not need to be signed for when they are delivered, but will be left somewhere safe. When placing your order, please let us know where you would like the plants left if you are not in when the courier delivers.

We will keep you posted
You will receive an email to let you know that your order is ready to be dispatched and another on the day your plants are packed and leave us, so you know to expect and prepare for their arrival.

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